Broccoli boost

Letter to the Editor|Published 2 years ago

Keith Blake, Ottery community leader, received a truck load of broccoli from a Philippi farmer, to share with the community.

Keith Blake, Ottery

On Thursday August 11, I received a call from a friend, a farmer, from Philippi, who wants to stay anonymous and she stated she wants to give me a ton of broccoli.

I went with my son Morne’s bakkie to the farm where the broccoli was loaded by the farmer and the staff with a forklift. With this heavy load I arrived home and my wife Tina cooked some to taste and it was delicious. A few residents from Freedom Park came to collect a few bags of broccoli.

I then made phone calls and the broccoli was collected by pastor Paul Phillips of Lotus River, Yasmine Abrahams of Jabulani Feeding scheme in Parkwood, Shafiek Martin of Hanover Park who delivered the broccoli to the feeding scheme in Newfields headed by Shanaaz Scholtz and they made their stews with their own recipes and fed some of their communities. I was thanked but God in Jesus Name gets all the glory.

Pastor Paul Phillips, community leader, collected some of the donated broccoli that was later shared with the Parkwood community.

I want to encourage fruit and vegetables businesses and our supermarkets and farmers, in this time of food insecurity and high food costs, to donate their excess fruit and vegetables or sell by-date fruit and vegetables and not dump it but give it to reputable community members who feed their communities from their homes. These donations will keep those pots cooking and people fed.

There is a saying that comes to mind: “Waste not want not”.