Partnership Update: Malungeni - Food Distribution

Here is the story of our largest South African food distribution. Experience it with us in the Eastern Cape’s rural community of Malungeni.

With all of the challenges impacting South Africa’s residents...it begins with food. That is why Arm in Arm in Africa’s largest expenditure by far each year is our food distribution program. And the largest commitment of our four distribution locations is here in rural Malungeni.

This is also the greatest example of our organization’s 20-year growth. What started as a meager 10 parcels of food has multiplied into nearly 2000 total parcels each year! (Malungeni gets nearly half of those.)

What’s a parcel? It’s a combination of the key staples of the residents’ diets: Beans, rice, sugar, flour, “samp” (ground corn), cooking oil, cream, and the recent addition of chicken. And when stacked for delivery...it stands about half the height of an adult!

The elders and leaders in the communities themselves decide who the fortunate families are who will receive these life-sustaining parcels. The choice is important...there aren’t enough parcels for everyone. 

Our Arm in Arm distributions happen four times a year. And this quarterly stack of food will nourish each receiving family for one to two months—depending on the number of mouths to feed.

In a way, this food is the foundation for the other two parts of our mission: healthcare and education. Of course, people who aren’t starving are healthier...and when these families can save the money they would have needed to buy their food, they can allocate those limited dollars toward their children’s education.

Arm in Arm Board Member, Malungeni native and community leader Rev. Spiwo Xapile puts it this way...”We know the children have been fed when the lights remain on in the evening. If not, they go to bed earlier to forget about their hunger.”