Causes We Support: South African Food Security Projects
Why we shine a light on these projects
Good food starts long before it reaches a shelf. It starts with farmers, with healthy soil and with people who know how to grow. All over South Africa, people are quietly doing that work. They teach backyard gardeners, save seed, rescue surplus harvests and help farmers through drought. These are food security projects we admire. Our way of supporting them is to spread the word. Have a look, and if one speaks to you, back them directly.
Growing food at home and in the community
Abalimi Bezekhaya
Region: Khayelitsha and Nyanga, Cape Flats, Western Cape
Abalimi Bezekhaya means “farmers of the home” in isiXhosa. Since 1982 they have helped people on the Cape Flats grow organic vegetables in sandy soil. Their garden centres in Khayelitsha and Nyanga sell affordable seedlings, compost and tools, and their field workers visit home, school and community gardens. Young farmers learn on a three-month apprenticeship. Abalimi also mentors Harvest of Hope, a farmer-led market for township-grown veg.
How to help: Donate through their website, or contact them to visit their open gardens.
Soil for Life
Region: Constantia, Cape Town, Western Cape
Soil for Life believes anyone can grow good food with whatever they have. Since 2002 they have taught more than 9,200 people in resource-poor communities to build healthy soil and keep home and community food gardens going. Their 12-week home gardening programme comes with seed, compost, home visits and six months of mentoring afterwards. You can also join a hands-on Grow to Live workshop in Constantia, or learn online in English or Zulu.
How to help: Donate money or produce, volunteer, come to their events or shop at their centre in Constantia.
Adopt-A-Village Rural Food Security Initiative
Region: Mtingwevu, near Cala, Eastern Cape
In 2022 this initiative started working with the 50 households of the Lakheka Mtingwevu Agricultural Initiative. It began with seedlings, fruit trees, maize seed, seed potatoes, a JoJo tank and garden tools. Then, in October 2025, about 55 people learnt to raise their own seedlings, together with AfriForum, Saai and the office of Nkosi Zweloxolo Stokwe. Water, sun and roots tested them, but they kept at it. By mid-2026 their own seedlings were in the ground.
Rescuing good food before it goes to waste
SA Harvest
Region: National (started in Cape Town; distributes in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg)
SA Harvest started with one van in Cape Town in 2019. Today it runs a national food-rescue network. They collect good surplus food that would otherwise go to landfill, including fruit and veg from farms and packhouses. Then they deliver it free to community organisations that feed people in need. This year that included hundreds of tonnes of citrus. Their idea is simple: the food is already there, and it just needs to get to the people who need it.
How to help: Donate on their website (card, PayPal or SnapScan), or see their Get Involved page.
FoodForward SA
Region: National (head office in Lansdowne, Cape Town; all nine provinces)
FoodForward SA has been recovering good surplus food since 2009. They share it through about 2,200 vetted community organisations in all nine provinces. More and more of that food comes straight off farms, as excess harvests and crops that miss retail specs. In 2025/26 around 40% of what they handed out was fresh fruit and vegetables. Farmers with a surplus can donate it instead of paying to dump it.
How to help: Donate money or food through their website.
Farmers, seed and healthy soil
Biowatch South Africa
Region: Durban; works with smallholder farmers, including in northern KwaZulu-Natal
Biowatch stands with smallholder farmers who work with nature, not against it. They promote agroecology and work with farmers on the ground, including in northern KwaZulu-Natal. Biowatch is a founding partner of the Seed and Knowledge Initiative, which works to keep seed in farmers’ hands across Southern Africa. In 2026 they published research on how smallholders and school food gardens can feed into the National School Nutrition Programme.
Food & Trees for Africa
Region: National (based in Johannesburg)
For three decades, Food & Trees for Africa has been greening South Africa, from schoolyards to commercial farms. Through EduPlant and their school gardening work, school and early-learning grounds become permaculture gardens. The gardens feed children and teach them how food grows. Where drought hits ordinary crops, they plant tough indigenous food trees like marula, and they train people in agroecology even in remote rural areas.
How to help: Donate through their website.
Southern Africa Food Lab
Region: National, with recent work in Matatiele (Eastern Cape) and Masiphumelele (Cape Town)
The Southern Africa Food Lab brings farmers, researchers, government and communities together to fix the food system. Through the Woza Nami programme they spent almost six years learning how agroecology can improve nutrition and livelihoods. In 2026 they took those lessons to farmers in Matatiele and to Masiphumelele in Cape Town. There, locals learnt to build tower gardens that grow plenty of food on just one square metre.
Close to home on Route 62
R62 Growth Initiative (R62G)
Region: Montagu and the Klein Karoo along Route 62, Western Cape
These are our neighbours. R62G is a non-profit based in Montagu, set up to help farms and towns along Route 62 recover from years of drought. They aim to help farmers keep permanent staff, replant orchards and try crops that need less water. They also run a network of 21 weather stations. The stations give farmers real data for their own patch, so they can choose what to plant where and spot fire risk early.
How to help: Donate from R50 a month for 24 months, or make a once-off donation. They are a PBO and issue tax certificates.
Questions about these causes
Does Sexy Slim Boer give money to these projects?
Right now we support them by spreading the word. If one of them speaks to you, the best thing is to give, volunteer or buy straight from them through their own website.
How did you choose these food security projects?
We looked for South African projects that are active right now and work close to the soil. They grow food at home and in schools, save seed, rescue surplus harvests or help farmers through hard times. We also looked for some close to home in the Western Cape and the Klein Karoo.
What does food security mean?
It means everyone can count on enough healthy, affordable food, every day. That depends on farmers being able to keep farming, on healthy soil and seed, and on good food getting to the people who need it instead of going to waste.
Can I suggest a project for this page?
Yes, please. Tell us about it through our contact page. We look for South African projects that help people grow food or support farmers, and we check each one before adding it.
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