H&M SA donates R1M to SA Harvest to help fight hunger

Lester Kiewit speaks to Caroline Nelson, H&M South Africa Country Manager, and Alan Browde, CEO and founder of SA Harvest.

Fashion brand H&M South Africa recently donated R1million towards alleviating hunger and helping to provide food security in the country, through the non-profit organisation SA Harvest. 

The donation stems from H&M South Africa’s ‘A Bag for Change’ initiative, launched in October 2023.

Under this initiative, the fashion brand began charging R2.50 per paper shopping bag as part of its commitment to reduce its environmental footprint and foster a more sustainable community by encouraging customers to opt for reusable bags.

Furthering this commitment, H&M pledged to donate 50% of the proceeds from shopping bag sales to non-profit organisations driving positive change in local communities.

H&M will continue to allocate 50% of shopping bag revenue to other inspiring non-profits in South Africa that align with its value of fostering social impact locally.

"We're extremely proud of the initiative and the impact it can have locally. SA Harvest was a fantastic organisation for us to partner with. We saw exactly what we donated landing exactly where we wanted."

- Caroline Nelson, H&M South Africa - Country Manager

SA Harvest is the first beneficiary of H&M's ‘A Bag for Change’ initiative, but certainly not the last, says Nelson.

SA Harvest started in 2019 with one delivery van delivering food to those who need it most with one main aim: to provide food security in South Africa as 20 million people face hunger in the country.

Over the past four years, SA Harvest delivered 57 million meals to people in need, notes Browde.

Ten million tonnes of food goes to 'waste' in South Africa every year, SA Harvest tries to save that 'waste' from farmers, manufacturers and retailers during the food chain process to make nutritious meals from it.

Browde says 'nutrition is absolutely crucial' for the organisation because the stats around people who suffer from hunger in South Africa are 'absolutely devastating.' 

"27% of children up to the age of five suffer from stunted growth as a result of malnutrition, so to deliver meals is one thing but to deliver nutritious meals is absolutely vital. We put something into our technology platform - a programme which measures the nutritional value of the food we deliver to beneficiaries and those beneficiaries feed the men, women and children. So, every month we're able to look at the balance of nutrition and make the necessary changes should they not fit into international standards."

- Alan Browde, CEO/Founder - SA Harvest

"A million Rand in terms of our cost per meal will enable us to deliver just over a million meals which is absolutely amazing. Organisations like H&M... their generosity is just an example of how we can operate... and collaboration is absolutely essential in helping people to eat." 

- Alan Browde, CEO/Founder - SA Harvest

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the full conversation.