On World Hunger Day, 28 May, beetroot, carrots, chillies, herbs and other vegetables grown in a Namibian community garden were showcased and sold at Shoprite Lafrenz in Windhoek, by members of the Groot Aub Fresh Producers organisation.
The Shoprite Group stated that the project which annually provides local community gardeners with available retail platform, coincided with World Hunger Day this year, a global awareness day focused on food insecurity and sustainable solutions. “Groot Aub Fresh Producers is among over 300 community gardens supported by the Shoprite Group across southern Africa, helping to strengthen food security in the region.”
Shoprite Chief Sustainability Officer, Sanjeev Raghubir said this year Market Day provided almost 60 local gardeners and co-operatives across the region with the opportunity to sell their fresh produce directly to the public, gain retail experience and strengthen the roots of small businesses that feed their communities. “Customers stocked up on local peppers, spinach,parsley and many other vegetables and fruits, met the small scale farmers and learned about their sustainable growing methods and in some instances, even purchased seedlings for their own home gardens.”
He added that for each community gardener taking part in Market Day, there is a story both of individual circumstance and a pathway to a more grounded and food secure life rooted in the soil. “The power of this day is in taking this a step further by facilitating market entry with skills training.”
One of the farmers, Julia Haipinge said through this Shoprite Group project, we get connected to other communities, which helps us to sell our products quicker and generate income more easily. “At Market Day, we gain a lot of trust and customers for our products, along with skills and knowledge. This all keeps us going, and we will never give up when it comes to food production.”
The Group said on the outskirts of Windhoek, Groot Aub Fresh Producers food garden grows a wide variety of crops, enabling projects members to sell produce to community members and create employment opportunities. Surplus produce from the six-year-old community garden is often donated to the settlement’s old age home and community centre.
Shoprite assured that beyond Market Day, they continue to support community food gardens through their Act For Change programme, which to date has assisted hundreds of gardens with training, seedlings and infrastructure.
