For Tiger Brands, nutrition security is not just about “tummy-fill”. It’s about going beyond access to calories: it considers a community’s access to essential nutrients as vital to overcome challenges to both malnutrition and obesity.
Tiger Brands acknowledges the extensive work by non-profit organisations focused on building communities through providing support and hope. In particular, the company has a deep appreciation for NGOs that help provide access to food and nutrition security to at-risk communities – as the largest manufacturer of branded consumer goods, food and nutrition is something that is very close to Tiger Brands’ heart.
Globally, access to nutritious food is one of the most critical challenges faced by societies. Sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the highest prevalence of food insecurity, where it is estimated that one person in four people is undernourished, and here in South Africa, 12 million South Africans (23% of the population) live in poverty and are food insecure.
Tiger Brands recognises that partnerships are crucial for sustainable and meaningful impact on food and nutrition security. It focuses on leveraging socially and locally relevant, impactful and sustainable interventions underpinned by strong partnerships and collaboration with multiple stakeholders. This includes partnerships with various government departments; independent NGOs, key customers, and the partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation, where Tiger Brands is an anchor partner on issues pertaining to food and nutrition security.
Last year, the company contributed more than R28m to providing high quality, nutrient dense and fortified foods through its Nutrition Support Programme to its NGO beneficiaries. In 2017, planned spend is around R35m.
Tiger Brands likes to think of its NGO beneficiaries as “earth’s angels”, who give of their time, energy and passion to help the communities around them – so the company makes sure that they, in turn, are supported in achieving their aspirations.
Through the support from Tiger Brands, these “earth’s angels” provide much-needed food to more than 30 000 people every month.
One such driven and passionate angel is Elaine Paulse from Western Cape NGO, Building the Walls.
