The majority of our donations come from Palm Court Spar and Nutritional Foods Company. Occasionally, we do get some individuals who donate food to us. Palm Court Spar has been our major Food donor since 2016. The bond has remained strong over the year and our clients are now familiar with the routine to the extent that every Tuesday and Thursday, they ensure that they come to our offices for their weekly ration. As soon as the food is off loaded, it is packed into smaller parcels which are then distributed to the many Foster parents on our database, the preference goes to those foster parents who have foster children who do not have birth certificates and as a result do not receive a Foster Care grant. The process of Late Registration of Births is a lengthy and daunting process stretching for a period between one year and two years. During that time, the Foster parent does not get any money to look after the child who is awaiting a birth certificate; hence, we try to assist them with food on a weekly basis.
There are also some regular clients within the Roodepoort area; most of them are grandparents who are raising their grandchildren on their own. The food parcel that they receive from us on a weekly basis, au
guments the Old Age grant that they receive on a monthly basis. Sometimes we also get clients who walk in on any given day and they also benefit from the frozen food.
During school holidays, as part of the re-unification program, our Foster children are encouraged to visit their biological parents and other extended family members, where applicable. Some of these families are so poverty stricken to the extent that they end up shying away from the idea of the child visiting them because they cannot afford to feed an extra person. As a result, these families are assisted with a food parcel on a weekly basis for the duration of the school holiday.