Who is FoodFlow ?

Iming Lin - Co-Founder/ Director : Public Health professional turned Farmer and Mother who runs Meuse Farm in Hout Bay.

Ashley Newell - Co-Founder/ Managing Director : Social & Economic Development Consultant and Photographer passionate about designing inclusive and equitable social impact solutions.

Marina Busse - Director: With a background in the advertisement industry working with Fortune 500 companies, Marina volunteered her time with FoodFlow developing partnerships and managing special projects.

Can I still donate?

FoodFlow’s COVID-19 response concluded in August of 2021. We are not accepting donations at this time.

What percentage of my donation went to farmers and communities?

FoodFlow is merely a conduit with 95% of all funds going directly to the farmers and nonprofit aggregating organizations. The 5% retained covers fees and all of FoodFlow’s overhead expenses.

Is FoodFlow a registered organization?

Yes! We have completed our registration as a Non-Profit Company and are registered an a Non-Profit Organization. We are in the process of applying for Public Benefit Organization status.

FoodFlow ZA NPC 2020/787217/08

252-209 NPO

What’s in a bag and can I get a bag delivered to my house for my own family?

By purchasing through FoodFlow you are sponsoring a bag of six vegetables on behalf of a family who experiences food insecurity and hunger. The delivery is made from the farms to our community distribution partners. If you would like your own fresh vegetables or fully traceable seafood you can order directly from our partners.

How are your distribution partners and recipients selected?

In order to swiftly shift the flow of produce coming from farms and redirecting deliveries to the communities most affected by school closures, we partnered with organizations in March of 2020 whom we have worked with in other capacities for the past eight years. These organizations have long-term relationships with the families they work with and were able to communicate and implement the initial rollout of the FoodFlow initiative. From our 2nd week since launch the Western Cape Department of Social Development requested us to rotate through a list of identified prioritized feeding sites to ensure a wide geographic area can benefit, recognizing there will be an increase the demand for these services in the weeks ahead. From our 4th week since launch, school feeding schemes were reopened within the Western Cape and additional food aid rolled out through Government partnered organizations. In response, FoodFlow expanded its community distribution partners to communities not yet receiving food aid and groups which may not be able to easily access government-provided services.

How do you work with the farmers?

FoodFlow purchases vegetables and food products directly from small-scale farmers or producers (those not a part of large retail supply chains) using donor funding. FoodFlow then matches the farmer with a community organization in their vicinity who distributes harvest bags or cooks a meal for their beneficiaries. FoodFlow works to sustain food livelihoods, enabling farmers to continue sustaining their business despite the loss of restaurant, hotel and market clients and ensures fresh nutritious food keeps flowing to those who are most impacted by food insecurity. Read more about our approach here.

How else can I help support the local food industry?

Support local restaurants through ordering takeaways or for delivery. See if they offer vouchers for future meals. Tip Well! Buy fresh vegetables and fully traceable seafood directly from our partners for your own household and keep doing so in the future.

What about the long-term?

FoodFlow is currently undergoing a strategic co-design process to assess the next chapter of how we can sustainably continue to enable small-scale food producers to feed their local communities in a fair, transparent and economically viable way.

We are grateful to be the winner of the Oribi Village’s #BridgingtheGap Challenge and will be incubated by Oribi, Wakanda and the Southern African Food Lab.

What was the outcome of the Restaurant Raffle?

For every four Harvest Bags donated from launch until November 30th 2020 sponsors earned an entry into the Restaurant Raffle.

716 people entered the raffle with a total of 2,595 tickets.

The following 6 winners were selected at random:

FYN - Katherine Hendricks

Oxalis Eatery - CPI Engineering

Table Seven - The Learning Sandbox

Reverie Social Table - Anke Greinhert

The Table at De Meye - Gareth Nortje

Chef’s Warehouse - Beau Constantia - Nadia Niemann