Eat Out and Stop Hunger Now SA partner to feed children

Every time you eat out at a South African restaurant, you can help to feed a pre-school child by submitting an online review of your dining experience at https://www.eatout.co.za/review/. Eat Out, one of South Africa’s biggest and most loved food brands, has partnered with Stop Hunger Now Southern Africa in this initiative that invites food lovers to make a difference simply by sharing their meal experience.

The partnership between Eat Out and Stop Hunger Now SA was announced on the night of the 2014 Eat Out Mercedes-Benz Restaurant Awards on 16 November 2014. Guests attending the event were invited to donate R20 via sms, raising enough money to provide 778 meals to hungry children.

One of the enhancements to the new Eat Out website (launched mid-November 2014) is that each time a reader submits a review, Eat Out pledges one meal to the Stop Hunger Now SA programme. By the end of November, Eat Out had achieved 210 meals thanks to these reader reviews. The barometer on the Eat Out home page ticks over to show the tally for that month as each new review is submitted. (See it on eatout.co.za).
Stop Hunger Now Southern Africa was established in 2009 with the mission to end hunger in Southern Africa. The organisation focuses on transformation through education and uses food as leverage to ensure the current generation of learners are fed, while at the same time holding learners, parents and educators accountable to achieve defined outcomes.

Said Aileen Lamb, General Manager of Eat Out, “We believe that we have found a good fit for our brand by joining forces with Stop Hunger Now SA. The model of one meal per review ensures that the engaged Eat Out community becomes a core part of the contribution process. Stop Hunger Now SA also has a holistic methodology that provides a 360-degree perspective on the challenges facing South African youth, and a model that is sustainable, measured and effective.”

Early Child Development (ECD) centres (pre-schools and day care centres) undergo a baseline evaluation by Stop Hunger Now SA to ensure that they meet the criteria of being under-resourced, yet have the will and initiative to commit to achieving specific goals set at the beginning of the nutrition programme. Stop Hunger Now SA guides the ECD centre or school to develop their facilities sufficiently to meet all the legislative requirements to qualify for registration with the Department of Social Development. The savings due to reduced spending on food are used to meet the requirements of the Children’s Act and Children’s Amendment Act: for example, to purchase a fire extinguisher, a first-aid kit or play equipment, or to invest in training of personnel.

The meals provided by Stop Hunger Now SA are complete nutritionally balanced, with an enrichment supplement of 23 vitamins and minerals specifically formulated to combat malnutrition. The distinctive packaging makes the product safe to store for 12 months and minimises the risk of resale or other misuse. Meals are easy to prepare, requiring only water and 20 to 30 minutes of cooking time using electricity, gas or wood.
David Jacobs, Cape Town Branch Manager for Stop Hunger Now SA says, “Stunted mental and physical growth caused by malnourishment in the first three to four years of life is mostly irreversible. Considering the fact that over three million children in South Africa suffer from household hunger, it’s important that SHN SA, joined by partners such as Eat Out, does what it can to provide sustainable solutions to combatting hunger. Studies show a properly fed child contributes 47% more on average to a country’s economy as an adult than a stunted one.”

Anyone who would like to join Eat Out in supporting Stop Hunger Now SA is invited to visit the Eat Out website and submit a restaurant review at https://www.eatout.co.za/write-review/. To further encourage reviews, Eat Out is offering monthly prizes, such as restaurant vouchers, for the best review.

To find out more, visit www.eatout.co.za. Follow @Eat_Out on Twitter, @eatoutguide on Instagram and visit the Eat Out Facebook page www.facebook.com/EatOutMag.

Author: Naomi Willemse from MANGO-OMC.
More Info link: https://www.eatout.co.za
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Eat_Out
Facebook: https://facebook.com/EatOutMag
Images: For high res version/s of One image/s please contact: MANGO-OMC.

Children with meals provided by Stop Hunger Now SA Photo: Stop Hunger Now SA

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