South Peninsula Soup Kitchens

” I am a mom of 4 and take care of my disabled aunt. We are altogether a family of 8 living in this home. Before COVID-19 I started feeding 72 children from my neighbourhood and due to the lockdown, I now feed approximately 346 children and adults. I supply two meals daily. In the beginning I funded this soup kitchen and as the demand grew I am now getting help from the donations. I am happy that I was donated this two plate stove and gas to help me cook the big pots quicker. In spare time I do COVID-19 awareness and for a friend distribute the donated masks to children. My husband, Ashraf Rademeyer, age 29, volunteers for EVS (Emergency Assistance Volunteer Support) delivering food to those in need in our community with his spare time because of no work during COVID-19.” – Mutheera Rademeyer, age 33, started one of the first soup kitchens in Ocean View.

In 1968, people living in sea side homes of Glen Cairn, Simons Town and Noordhoek were moved to an area first known as Slangkop, later renamed as Ocean View, situated in South Peninsula, South Africa. Today there are approximately 35 000 people living in this community where many residents face challenges that come with unemployment. This is the reason why the community has set up soup kitchens throughout Ocean View. This feeding system has been part of the community for several years and it is run voluntarily by the community members using their own finances and home kitchens to feed people. The people in need bring their own food containers and line up outside the soup kitchen homes to receive nutritious cooked meals. In addition to these existing soup kitchens, the Ocean View mosque joined in feeding over 300 people every Thursday since 2018.

And now, during the challenging times of COVID-19 in 2020, the mosque has reached out to the entire community for more families to help with home based soup kitchens to be able to keep up with the growing number of people in need of food. To ensure fair distribution to the whole community, while in the official South African lockdown since 26th March 2020, Ocean View community has voluntarily been sectioned off into twelve zones of soup kitchens where each zone is provided for by the designated soup kitchen home. Up to-date there are 46 families that have opened up their homes in this time of need, where donated veggie boxes from Non Profit Organisations, such as Community Action Network (CAN) groups and private individuals, are equally divided and delivered two to three times a week to all the soup kitchens by the Ocean View mosque . This proactive feeding system has been able to reach about 5000 children and adults daily.

This is one of the stories of South Peninsula Communities and all the people working tirelessly to bring nutritious meals to the ones in need. Like Ocean View, other communities such as Mashipumelele, Red Hill and Rasta Camp are pulling together all their resources within the community to keep up with the rising demand. Unfortunately it is not enough in these challenging times of COVID-19 lockdown and its knock on effects that will still remain long after the lockdown ends. They need all the support they can get and Non Profit Organisations such as Cape Town Community Action Network have formed relationships all across South Peninsula to reach out for donations towards helping the hard working people in Ocean View , Masiphumelele, Red Hill and Rasta Camp.

This is a system set up by the people for the benefit of the people. And bottom line is, that it works, thousands of children and adults are receiving nutritious meals every day in these challenging times.

To help all the community volunteers and NGOs please consider donating following: