According to INMED South Africa, the increasing levels of hunger due to poverty and severe climate events, which are now exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, are pushing many vulnerable families in South Africa deeper into poverty and starvation.

"Home and community gardens are a simple solution to improve access to nutritious food," says Dr Sandra Pretorius, programme director for INMED's Health in Action programme. 

"Our team has nearly two decades of experience helping individuals, schools and communities implement adaptive agriculture projects to strengthen food security and build sustainable livelihoods in all types of environments," adds Pretorius.

INMED says that the 'Seeds for Life' project has many potential long-term impacts, including improved physical and mental health, which lead to a reduction in preventable lifestyle diseases and financial savings.

"Our approach in this campaign is to use children as change agents," says Pretorius. Schools that are already part of INMED South Africa's programmes will identify learners to receive seed packs to start a food garden at their homes with support from parents and guardians."

"We are selecting households with the most need from the communities we work in, through our 'Break Time Buddies'," Pretorius adds.

INMED South Africa has indicated that it is also working with seed companies such as Sakata to support this initiative. "If support for the campaign grows and we receive enough donations, we will be able to roll out the programme to other provinces in our footprint too," says Pretorius.

The first phase of 'Seeds for Life' will focus on raising R25 000 to support 2 500 households in Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth. This includes the following areas:
  • Diepsloot
  • Cosmo City
  • Soweto
  • Orange Farm
  • Kwa-Zakhele
  • Zwide
  • Motherwell, and
  • Northern areas.
The seeds will be packaged in small compostable paper bags, with enough to plant five different crops of summer, and later winter, gardens. INMED South Africa also will provide training material and demonstrations.

"The aim is to be able to deliver the first seeds in September / October at the start of Spring," says Pretorius.

"It is an ambitious plan, but we believe it is achievable," concludes Janet Ogilvie, operations manager for INMED South Africa. "Our Health in Action programme sponsor Mondelez International Foundation has already donated the first 250 packs and is challenging other companies to do same."

For more information, visit www.inmed.org.za or www.globalgiving.org.