DSD to increase reach in nutritional relief during Covid19 Pandemic
6 April 2020
The Department of Social Development (DSD) has made an additional R35 million available for food relief programmes from Provincial Treasury allocations, to widen our existing nutritional safety net to reach an extra estimated 215 520 beneficiaries with cooked meals and food parcels, as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic. This is over and above its existing daily provision of food to approximately 100 000 people.
The 50 000 extra food parcels, which will support an average household for one month, will be distributed to households who meet the following qualifying criteria:
Households affected by COVID-19 infections in the following instances:
A member/s of the family who tested positive for the virus and are in isolation in their homes.
A household where a member of the family who tested positive for the virus and who have insufficient means to sustain themselves during the lockdown period.
A person who is on medication or who suffers from a chronic illness and have insufficient means to sustain themselves, and was assessed and referred by a local clinic or registered health practitioner.
A person and their household who have insufficient means to sustain themselves during the lockdown period who was referred by a registered humanitarian relief agency, registered NPO or a local municipality, and assessed by DSD. In this instance, persons not yet in receipt of SASSA grants, including the elderly, child headed houses, grant awaiting beneficiaries will be prioritised.
Existing Nutritional Relief:
The Department currently provides nutritional support via 72 targeting feeding sites reaching 6 520 beneficiaries, and 20 Community Nutritional Development Centres reaching 5 000 beneficiaries. In order to upscale the reach, the Department has partnered with NGOs, to provide relief to an additional 10 000 beneficiaries. The total reach for the provision of food parcels and cooked meals through these existing networks is 21 520.
While ECDs’ core business remains closed, the Department has asked the ECD centres it funds to reopen their kitchens, so that feeding may continue to up to 80 000 vulnerable children across the province. So far approximately 700 of these kitchens have started doing so. DSD funded residential facilities such as child and youth care centres, old age homes, residential facilities for people with disabilities; drop-in-centres and other programmes, are providing daily nutrition to nearly 40 000 beneficiaries.
How can organisations or individuals channel their offers of donations?
Organisations or individuals can make use of the call centre on the details provided below or email [email protected]. These details will then be captured and channelled to the relevant officials for processing.
How can individuals or organisations make contact with the Department?
Members of the public can phone 0800 220 250 for DSD general queries, and 0860 142 142 for donation requests and offers between 7am and 4pm (Monday-Friday), send a Please Call Me to 079 769 1207, or email [email protected]
These queries will then be routed to the relevant programme offices within the Department.
We further wish to alert the public that we have been receiving very high call volumes with long waiting times, and thus appeal to individuals not use these channels to report law enforcement issues, as these calls could put people who need assistance by the Department at further risk by increasing their waiting time.
We urge all citizens to obey the rules and regulations of the lockdown, to prevent the further spread of Covid-19 in our communities.
Issued by Department of Social Development, 6 April 2020
