PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - Collaborative efforts involving Bitou's tourism entity will see 300 000 substitute meals distributed over the next three weeks as the economic impact of the Covid-19 lockdown regulations takes its toll on the community.
Plett Tourism has, since the outbreak, taken over a somewhat different role and has been heading several relief drives including a massive feeding scheme for local residents buckling under the pressure.
One of these entails a collaboration between several role players, including the Bitou Municipality, involving obtaining and distributing a highly nutritious meal supplement called JAM by the Joint Aid Management humanitarian relief and development organisation.
Powder mixed with water
Plett Tourism chief executive Marius Venter, who has experience in disaster relief and feeding schemes, was able to source this food supplement alternative in the form of a powder to be mixed with water.
JAM, approved by the World Food Programme and manufactured by Future Foods in South Africa, is a supplement and is currently feeding 11-million people worldwide. The municipality, the town's Covid-19 response team, local businessmen Tony Lubner and Jock Kannemeyer, and several private donors have appointed Venter to lead this new feeding scheme. Lubner, Kannemeyer and several of their donors raised R300 000 to make the project happen.
To start, Venter will be coordinating the distribution of 100 000 meals this week and an additional 200 000 over the course of the next three weeks.
The Covid-19 response team includes Kannemeyer, Dr Nicky Whitehead, Bruce Ward Smith, Mike Scholtz, Cecily van Heerden, Venter and appointed municipal representation.
"Everything we do is to benefit Plett and our beloved and vital tourism industry. This includes giving people a future and creating hope for those less fortunate than ourselves. Many people have made a contribution in many areas of endeavour and taken on a multitude of challenges and after this crisis is over, we will have a transformed society with a more positive landscape that will serve us well as we rebuild and take our town forward into the future," Venter said.
'A first for Plett'
He stated that providing food for 300 000 people over the course of three weeks is a first for Plett, and possibly a first for South Africa.
He added that as the coronavirus spreads, those less fortunate in towns like Plettenberg Bay are among the most vulnerable to infection and on top of that, the most vulnerable to more economic hardships including hunger.
" 'There is nothing', is a common response from many mothers, fathers, grandparents and children when one approaches the subject of food in the impoverished areas. The online communities and
on-the-ground volunteers dedicated to feeding schemes, are already in place to assist, but as the Covid-19 lockdown continues, the challenges being faced have become even more extreme."
Venter said not everyone receives food parcels, and those who do eventually deplete those items. "Recipients have been laid off, are not producing an income and there is nobody on the streets to help. Common places to find food handouts are now closed. Soup kitchens are limited with supplies, some are out of food or will be soon, and some will have to close."
This is the reason behind the initiative, said Venter.
JAM was founded by Peter and Ann Pretorius in 1984 and is a Christian international humanitarian relief and development organisation operating in South Africa, Angola, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda and Sierra Leone.
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