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Fresh, organic veggies grown locally now available in Cape Town’s Northern Suburbs

I received word this morning that Harvest of Hope is now bringing their fresh produce to my valley as well. I am definitely going to give this service a go. Who can say no to fresh, organically grown veggies at amazing prices? Plus even more employment opportunities have now been created and more farmers have a permanent source of income. Sounds like an amazing project to be a part of.  Visit the Harvest of Hope website HERE to sign up and get your fresh greens.

GREEN MONDAY

Harvest of Hope fresh, organic vegetables Pretty Please Charlie

Harvest of Hope, iNkosi Eco Lodge and Abalimi Bezekhaya partner with Green Monday South Africa to now provide organically-grown veggies in Northern Suburbs

Abalimi Bezekhaya has partnered with Green Monday South Africa, a new initiative launched by Humane Society International (HSI) that aims to improve animal welfare, human health and environmental sustainability. Green Monday encourages consumers to leave meat, dairy and eggs off their plates for one day a week, and replace it with delicious plant-based alternatives.  

To help the Northern Suburbs take part in this fun and delicious movement, Harvest of Hope (HoH) will now also be offering fresh, organically-grown veggies to consumers living in the Durbanville and De Tyger areas once a week (on Tuesdays). Harvest of Hope already provides this popular service to a variety of other suburbs in Cape Town. Veggie lovers in the Northern Suburbs can now order and collect their fresh weekly greens at iNkosi Eco Lodge, who has also joined the Green Monday movement.

Harvest of Hope now in Northern Suburbs Pretty Please Charlie

Monthly or quarterly orders can be placed online for small (R99 per week), medium (R133 per week) or even combination bag sizes. Vegetables included will change on a weekly basis to offer a variety of meal options – ranging from carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, spinach and lettuce to chives, peppers and basil (amongst others).

Harvest of Hope is a project of Abalimi Bezekhaya, a nonprofit organisation in Cape Town. Their aim is to teach and train township communities on how to organically grow their own food and use agriculture as a means to food security as well as income generation. Harvest of Hope guarantees the purchase of all vegetables grown by these farmers by distributing boxes of fresh produce to HoH members weekly. Farmers benefit by receiving more than half the value of the veggie bags each week. The organisation is not concerned with making a profit, but rather offering guaranteed and reliable access to markets for the small farmers.  More than a hundred farmers are part of the project, and providing the service in the Northern Suburbs will create even more job opportunities. Harvest of Hope is brining on more local farmers to cater for the added demand, and they are also hiring another driver and more staff for packing the produce.

Harvest of Hope farmers

The project relies on partners for drop off locations in various communities, this time joining with iNkosi Eco Lodge, De Tyger – the first of its kind in Cape Town. iNkosi Eco Lodge will run the pickup location for members and manage the distribution of vegetables, acting as a “local champion” for HoH. The Eco Lodge is green-friendly, serving guests with top quality service while creating little to no impact on the earth. The team at iNkosi Eco Lodge will host the launch of Harvest of Hope into the area from March 2016.

Green Monday’s vision is to help create a marketplace that provides food that enchants the palette, promotes better policies for animal welfare, and lessens our environmental footprint. By creating a more sustainable, animal-friendly, and waste-friendly marketplace, businesses will prosper, public health will improve, and there will be a decrease in the number of animals suffering on factory farms. With this project, Green Monday, Abalimi Bezekhaya, Harvest of Hope and iNkosi Eco Lodge hope to raise awareness around these issues and assist citizens to bring about positive change.

Leozette Roode, social media manager and community relations coordinator of farm animals for Humane Society International, Africa, says: “We’re honored to join Harvest of Hope in this great initiative. By becoming a Harvest of Hope member and joining the Green Monday South Africa movement, you will not only benefit your own health, but also support local farmers, lessen your impact on the environment, help save animals and promote food security for South Africa. You have the power to embrace a sustainable future – one green meal at a time! Sign up as a HoH member and join the Green Monday movement today!”

Humane Society International encourages consumers to practice the three R’s of eating: reducing your consumption of animal-based foods, refining your diet by avoiding animal products derived from factory farming, and replacing meat and other animal-based foods with plant-based options.

I’ll be signing up. And you?

xoxo

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Woolworths Moms Tours

There is nothing more important to a parent than the health and happiness of their children. We all do our utmost to ensure that our kids follow a healthy and balanced diet, but more often than not it is not quite as easy as it sounds. Time may not be your side and fast food is just an easier option, you may have picky eaters or a child who suffers from food allergies, or you may have just run out of ideas. Woolworths Moms Tours to the rescue.

Woolworths Moms Tours

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These tours are guided by a registered dietician and aim to educate parents (and in turn their kids) about nutrition, healthy eating habits and better food options.

I attended a Moms Tour at Woolworths Tyger Valley last week and the subject was Healthy Lunch Box Options. We had a tour through the food store, learnt more about the different food groups, their nutritional value and importance, the difference between snacks and treats and we also had the chance to sample some eats and drinks that are perfect for our kids’ lunch boxes. I am sure we all walked away with a lot of new lunch ideas.

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My poor baby girl has food allergies. Sigh. I pray that she grows out of it, but for now she has to stick to a dairy, egg and peanut free diet. I have become a pro at food label reading over the past couple of years, let me tell you. It has become increasingly difficult to get her to try new foods as we have stuck to what she knows for such a long time. Her diet has become very boring. It doesn’t help that her mom has no imagination when it comes to cooking. None whatsoever. This was one of the reasons that I immediately said yes when I received the invitation to attend this Moms Tour. It gave me the opportunity to ask a lot of questions and the advice from the dietician that led the tour, proved to be invaluable. I most definitely have a lot more meal ideas for my little girl and after the tour my shopping trips to Woolies will be a lot quicker and easier than in the past.

Moms Tours are hosted in various stores in the Western Cape, KZN and Gauteng. In the Western Cape, Woolworths hosts four tours a year which alternate between the Northern and Southern Suburbs of Cape Town. Each tour has a different topic such as Healthy Lunch Box Options, Brain Food, Quick Healthy Meals for the Family, Diabetes and Blood sugar and Sustained Energy.

If you are interested in one of these tours, you can find more details on Woolworths’ Educational Programmes and Moms Tours on the Woolworths website in the Woolworths in Schools section.

I want to take this opportunity to thank Woolworths for a very informative evening filled with valuable information, delicious treats and as well great goodies to take home. I am really looking forward to your next tour.

xoxo