​On Saturday 16 October 2021, as the world celebrated World Food Day, about 2000 Gauteng families received food parcels from the Gauteng Department of Social Development and its stakeholders.
62-year-old Lydia Moekwa, a pensioner and a resident of Mamelodi in Tshwane, who also received a food parcel said, “I’m delighted to have received food especially on this day. My family of four will have a proper meal for now at least thanks to the courtesy of the Department of Social Development”.

World Food Day is commemorated annually around the world on 16 October in remembrance of the founding of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations in 1945 as an organisation that deals with global food and agricultural issues.

This day provides an occasion to highlight the plight of 870 million impoverished people in the world. Most of them live in rural areas where their main source of income is agriculture. Global warming and the biofuel boom are now threatening to push the number of hungry people even higher.

Speaking to the residents in Mamelodi who graced the programme MEC for Social Development Morakane Mosupyoe quoted world renowned humanitarian Mother Teresa and said, “when a poor person dies of hunger it has not happened because God did not take care of him or her. It has happened because neither you nor I wanted to give that person what they needed.”

Mosupyoe applauded partnership with stakeholders such as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and football club TS Galaxy who contributed by donating food parcels, seedling, masks, sanitizers, and sanitary towels.

“As government we continue to welcome these partnerships aimed at assisting communities across the province. We also acknowledge that we cannot do it alone. Thank you to all companies, organization, soccer clubs, and NPOs that are joining forces with government in changing the lives of our people. We are here in Tshwane, but as Social Development we are distributing food across in all five regions. Food distribution is temporary relief, profiling is done to link beneficiaries with sustainable development programmes, that will ensure that we ultimately eradicate poverty and change their lives for the better,” says Mosupyoe.

The day seeks to among others heighten public awareness on issues such as absence and scarcity of food in the country and to strengthen solidarity in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition, and poverty, promote food production and to stimulate national, bi-lateral, trans-national and non-governmental initiatives and to encourage research and technology development for the development of symbiotic ecological food production systems to ensure sustainable food production.