MOTHER AND CHILD: FoodForward SA expands nutrition drive to 100 more families

Monthly food parcels are now reaching an additional 100 at-risk families in Wallacedene and Bloekombos after FoodForward SA extended its mother and child nutrition programme in Cape Town. The initiative aims to tackle early childhood malnutrition and support the national agenda of ending child stunting by 2030.

FoodForward SA has expanded its mother and child nutrition programme to assist 100 additional beneficiaries in the communities of Bloekombos and Wallacedene in Cape Town.

Partnering with local health clinics, the launch of the expansion on Thursday, 20 August, saw local mothers from Wallacedene gathering to collect parcels of nutritious food, aimed at bridging the access gap for at-risk pregnant women and children under five.

Sister Carlin November, facility manager at the Wallacedene Clinic, highlighted the difficulty of assisting mothers and children vulnerable to malnutrition in the 35,000-strong population the clinic serves. While the facility provides support through health education and its Nutrition Therapeutic Programme, available for underweight babies up to six months, staff know they are often sending caregivers home to households where it is a struggle to put food on the table.

“When you look at food, food is also medicine. So, it starts off there... I am very excited and happy to have FoodForward SA onboarding all the members that were here today, and making a difference in the lives of these children,” she said.

FoodForward SA has worked closely with the City of Cape Town health department to identify areas in the metro with the highest incidences of child malnutrition, according to Andy Du Plessis, managing director of FoodForward SA. The organisation is also partnering with a local beneficiary organisation, HewLin Compassion NPO, on food parcel distribution.

“We identified Bloekombos and Wallecedene because they are so overpopulated. People get sick; the infections increase... We’re working closely with the City health department, but also the local clinics, to make sure we identify the children early enough and get the nutrition they need,” said Du Plessis.

In his February 2026 State of the Nation Address, President Cyril Ramaphosa committed to ending child stunting and tackling malnutrition by 2030.

Du Plessis noted that FoodForward SA was taking a four-year view on how to reduce the number of children who were stunted across the country, with plans to continue its mother and child nutrition programme’s expansion in the Eastern Cape, as well as Gauteng, Kwa-Zulu Natal and other provinces.

The programme delivers monthly food parcels designed to feed a family of four for a month. FoodForward SA procures the foodstuffs specifically to ensure a healthy combination of protein, starch and fresh produce.

One of the beneficiaries who collected a food parcel on Thursday was a mother of three, with children aged six, two and three months old. Her youngest child was flagged as needing additional nutrition support at Wallacedene Clinic.

Both the beneficiary and her husband have been struggling with unemployment, contributing to food insecurity in the household.

“It’s because there are no jobs...