The Bristin AfterSchool Food Project is a new initiative from ROGZ Academy, assisting with providing food to all the AfterSchool learners in Grade 3 and 4 and the YeBoneers at the four under-resourced schools we support in Dunoon and Joe Slovo townships in Cape Town near ROGZ HQ. Click on the image to watch a short 3 minute video about our impactful Project.
BACKGROUND
She is hardworking and humble: CEO of KONG USA, KD Frueh, has been a business partner and friend to ROGZ pet gear for many years and has donated regularly to our ROGZ Academy via the Denver Foundation in the USA, but shies away from the limelight. We want to honour her.
Whilst in Cape Town at the end of 2023, KD spent some time at ROGZ pet gear HQ, and listened to the progress of the ROGZ Academy. In amongst various conversations, KD picked up that the children in Grade 3 and 4 (the ones who receive literacy and numeracy support from ROGZ Academy) were struggling to learn because they were hungry.
And so The Bristin AfterSchool Food Project was born, which rolled out in April 2024 and will continue until November, managed by Rogger Annie Fuller. Through a very generous donation from KD’s Bristin Fund in honour of her father, ROGZ Academy has set up a wonderful network of suppliers, to not only feed the children and Youth team in the Afterschool programme, but also support local small businesses.
DECIDING WHAT FOOD TO PROVIDE
The Peninsula School Feeding Programme had been providing afternoon snacks for the YearBeyond AfterSchool Programme but it was only enough for half of the 840 learners. Our goal was to provide the same food for the other 420 learners, Monday through Thursday, including the YeBoneers. An so we embarked on a project to provide fresh sandwiches and a healthy fruit.
GETTING OUR KITCHEN READY
A decision was made to run the Food Project from ROGZ HQ so that we could better manage and address any issues firsthand. Quickly we kitted out our ROGZ Kitchen with a proper catering fridge, as well as clinical stainless steel counters. Through a friend at local Sense of Taste Chef School, we were put in touch with JC Hospitality and met Chef de Partie, Yolanda, and Commi Chef, Sophia. These two ladies have been trained to work in a hygienic kitchen and efficiently make the sandwiches every day in our Kitchen, making sure the correct number of sandwiches and fruit go to each of the four schools. Stocktake is done and liaising with suppliers with quotes.
SOURCING LOCAL SUPPLIERS
We support local suppliers. Local SPAR Royal Ascot helps us with 64 loaves of fresh discounted bread every week. Special thanks to Rudolf and Chris of StarCape, a local catering supply company situated near Dunoon which has upskilled locals to make their delicious toppings and jam, for the discounted jam and helpful advice. Thanks to Haley of Roasted & Raw, for the discounted peanut butter and raisins. We get delicious oranges from Raw Nutrition, a local Fruit and Vegetable supplier near ROGZ HQ who do not use plastic packaging. We buy Melrose Cheese Spread and cute sandwich stickers from local Makro outlet. All our food boxes are delivered to the 4 schools in Dunoon and Joe Slovo in time for the Afternoon School Programme by local Ernest from Kalimalo Tours. It is a wonderful network of local people!
FOLLOWING OUR ESG GOALS
Our ROGZ Academy Bristin AfterSchool Food Project is not only feeding hungry learners and our youth team, and providing employment for local suppliers, but also following as many sustainable practices as possible. This includes upcycling used ROGZ boxes to deliver the food, rinsing and keeping every single glass jar and plastic bucket to be used in Outreach Projects, and saving every bread tag with the hope that by the end of 2024, we can purchase a wheelchair for an under-resourced person via the BreadTags for WheelChairs Initiative.
We would like to thank the Bristin Fund for supporting our idea and making this Project a reality, and for creating a story of Ubuntu that is impacting so many
