This is a quick post to announce the Melville Food Program, which I’ve blogged about many times during lockdown (see here and here and here), did its last large-scale food parcel distribution at Heritage Baptist Church today. This amazing group of volunteers, led by Tanya and Sean Gardiner, have given out more than 5,400 food parcels (around 300,000 total meals) to Melville area residents over the past four months.
Obviously this is sad news, as the need in our community is still very great and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. But this huge intervention – fully volunteer-run and funded on the fly – was a temporary stopgap, meant to keep as many bellies full as possible during the harshest months of the lockdown. It simply couldn’t last forever.
But this is not the last you’ll hear of this grass-roots initiative. The masterminds behind the Melville Food Program are taking one week off and then they’ll be back in business, supporting the community in new, sustainable ways. The program will also continue to fundraise with help from its nonprofit partner, the Viva Foundation. I’ll update you as soon as I have more news to share.
Today I just want to commend the Melville Food Program volunteers for a job well done. In fact, “well done” doesn’t cut it. I have never before encountered such a positive, hardworking, talented group of people and I’m incredibly grateful for the tremendous contribution they’ve made – and will continue to make – to my community.
And thanks to everyone reading this post who has donated to the program since I started writing about it in May. I wish I had a way of counting up all of your donations – I know it’s A LOT and you’ve helped feed hundreds of people.
As I said, the Melville Food Program isn’t ending. So if you want to donate, please use the banking details below or contact me.
Name: Viva Foundation
Branch: FNB Olympus Plaza Code 258155
Acc Nr.: 622 4884 3270
Reference: Melville
SWIFT: FIRNZAJJZXXX
Viva, Melville. Viva!
How have I never blogged about 44 Stanley Avenue, the coolest shopping and dining complex in Joburg, which is only five minutes from my house?
I guess it’s wrong to say I’ve never blogged about 44 Stanley; I’ve mentioned it countless times over the years (see here and here) when writing about specific restaurants or shops that are there. But I’ve never written a dedicated post about 44 Stanley as a destination and it’s about time I did – especially now, with the holidays upon us.
I’ve been dreadfully uninspired lately, struggling to think of anything I want to blog about despite having a long list of great ideas (many of which you, my readers, provided in September). I’m finding it hard to feel positive about life at the moment. But on Saturday Thorsten and I got the chance to visit Indwe Park, an indigenous garden and sculpture park in Braamfontein, and I knew I had my topic for today.
In 2020, I published a blog post with tips for Americans living in South Africa who wanted to vote in the U.S. presidential election. I thought about simply resharing that post this year. But then I realized: 1) I want to write a U.S. election post that will be fun and informative for everyone, not just other Americans; and 2) Believe it or not, the U.S. presidential election stakes are even higher in 2024 than they were in 2020. So I’m introducing you to some really cool Americans in Joburg – one who I’ve known forever and two who I just met – and tell you a bit about who they are, why they live here, and why they vote.
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It makes me smile, when I see it.