A food bank in Gauteng has 5,600 food parcels for poor families in its warehouse, but it has not received the funds it needs from the Gauteng Department of Social Development to distribute them.
Food parcels are supplied to the food bank by private companies which have contracts with the department. The food bank, a nonprofit organisation, receives funding from the department to cover its operational costs, including distribution, warehouse space, fuel and staff salaries.
The Carroll Shaw Memorial Food Bank near Krugersdorp had been funded by the department since 2009, but its funding was withdrawn in April. However, the organisation has continued to receive food parcels from the department’s suppliers. It received 5,000 parcels of non-perishables in June and 2,000 units of fresh vegetables in July, the last delivery. The parcels are valued at R700 each.
The food bank was able to distribute 2,000 food parcels in April using its own funds. In May, the department provided vehicles to distribute another 2,000 food parcels, but distribution stopped at the end of that month, a manager said.
According to the manager at the centre, the food bank owes R500,000 in rent and its staff are all at home, unpaid since April.
Funding halted
The funding withdrawal came after findings made in a flawed forensic audit spearheaded by the former social development MEC Mbali Hlophe.
Documents seen by GroundUp show that the organisation has appealed against each of the findings.
The allegations mostly refer to unspent money for other programmes the centre runs. The centre has submitted evidence that the unspent funds were paid back to the department.
There were also queries about the financial statements. The organisation’s accountants sent explanations to the department.
The manager said that during a visit to the facility in July, the new MEC, Faith Mazibuko, undertook to ensure that the food parcels piling up in the warehouse are distributed as soon as possible. But no further action had been taken.
Instead, the department had been in discussion with the centre about appointing an administrator to resume operations at the food bank. But progress on this has been slow, the manager said.
The Gauteng Department of Social Development has not responded to any of our queries since July. DM
First published by GroundUp.