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GARDEN ROUTE NEWS & VIDEO - The Garden Route Food Pantry has moved to new premises in the Yellow Star Storage facility in Tamsui Industria.

The food pantry was previously situated in Glaze Street, George Central, where they worked since their launch in December 2020.

The new premises is bigger and also allows the organisation to expand to keep up with the growing demand for food resources. The new site has adequate parking and truck accessibility for deliveries and collections.

Carl van Blerk, founder and CEO of the Garden Route Food Pantry, on Monday 17 April said there were a few reasons why they decided to move.

The lease contract at the previous building is due to expire after two and half years and they need larger space due to the success of one of the latest product lines, the Food Sock nutritional meals.

Furthermore, the staff component increased from five to 15. It is also important to note that the organisation must maintain high health standards as they work with food on a daily basis.

Carl van Blerk, founder and CEO of the Garden Route Food Pantry, at the new premises. 

Van Blerk said they moved on 1 April and it took only two days, with no major challenges, allowing the production and services to continue with little interruption. The Food Pantry is already fully operational.

Since the food sock project started in February, more than 15 000 food socks have already been distributed.

According to Van Blerk, the need for food is getting bigger and more urgent. Since they started in December 2020, more than 1,3 million meals have already been distributed. On average, 60 000 to 80 000 meals are distributed every month.

"Times are tough and factors such as higher food prices and the Eskom crisis have resulted in people battling to afford nutritional food – and this is all over the region and our country," Van Blerk said. 

"The need is in all segments of the population and not just the traditional segments where there were great needs in the past."

VIDEO: New premises for Garden Route Food Pantry

Carl van Blerk, founder and CEO of the Garden Route Food Pantry, at the new premises. Photos: Eugene Gunning

Anyone who wishes to get involved can make contact via Facebook/GardenRouteFoodPantry or can contact Van Blerk directly on 071 427 5638.

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