• 🎁 Support provided for three educare food growing projects
• 👩‍👩‍👧 95 young children across three community crèches reached
• 💡 A measurable increase in fresh, nutritious vegetables in daily school meals

In the heart of Delft, one of Cape Town’s most severely impoverished communities, three local crèches – Blessings, Sonwabile, and Mangcina – took a stand against food insecurity.

Through hands-on training and support from Soil for Life, alongside the supply of start-up garden materials, these centres transformed barren spaces into thriving food gardens. All harvests go directly into the crèches’ feeding programmes, ensuring children receive lunches packed with freshly harvested vegetables – adding diversity and vital nutrition to their diets.

The gardens have also become a highlight for the children themselves, who participate enthusiastically wherever they can – from pulling weeds and adding mulch to watering the plants. Involving children in growing food is a wonderful, hands-on way to teach them where food comes from and why healthy eating matters, while offering the simple joy of spending time outdoors, getting their hands dirty, and watching a tiny seed become a delicious vegetable.

The skills have also sparked a ‘backyard garden’ movement beyond the crèche gates, with many participating parents now growing their own food at home in the surrounding informal settlements.

“It is always humbling to witness the sense of pride and accomplishment that trainees feel when they reap the harvests of their hard work.”

— Soil for Life Programme Co-ordinator

All three educare centres have reported a significant increase in fresh vegetables within their daily meal plans. The project has strengthened food security for 95 children while building lasting horticultural skills that are spreading through the wider community.

Your support is helping communities such as Delft gain new skills and grow healthy, nutritious food for their schools and community.

This gift was delivered in partnership with Soil for Life, a non-profit organisation that empowers people to grow their own nutritious food and build healthy soil to promote health, dignity, and independence.