A Little Insight

We rescue.
We cook.
We feed.

Who we are

The name Chefs with Compassion says a lot, but it doesn’t say it all.
Chefs with Compassion is a collaboration of partners – individuals, companies, and organisations – who together rescue surplus food that would go to waste, donate it to kitchens where it is cooked, to feed the growing number of hungry people in food vulnerable areas.

Chefs with Compassion was launched in May 2020 as a not-for-profit company in response to the Covid-19 humanitarian crisis, and aims to continue as long as need can be met.

What do we do

Rescue 10 million tonnes of food goes to waste every year in South Africa. It’s a shocking fact - that means one-third of all the food produced in SA is waste - which is more than enough to feed every one of the 19 million people going hungry across the country. It is our mission to rescue and redirect as much of this perfectly good food as possible.

Cook Through our network of community cooks, caterers and compassionate chefs, we cook nourishing meals for food vulnerable people.

Feed The third and final part of our mission is to ensure the cooked food reaches the people who need it most, through our approved beneficiary organisations.

Our mission is
to Rescue | Cook | Feed.

“Our greatest wish is to alleviate the hunger and suffering of South Africa where our network of chefs, kitchens, and supporters takes root.”
James Khoza, Chairman, Chefs with Compassion

Our Impact

At the end of the day, this is what matters most.
6,575,969
30,000
1.55
Tonnes of
Produce Received
78.14%
Rescued from
The Market
2.58%
From Small
Scale Farmers
4.82%
From Wholesalers
and Retailers
3.67%
To Pig
Farmers
30
South African
Kitchen Hubs
30
Beneficiary
Organisations
8
Able
Volunteers

Our Board

Hanneke van Linge
Caroline McCann
Vanessa Naudé
Coovashan Pillay
James Khoza
Mark Wilson

Our Volunteers

Volunteers are the life blood of Chefs with Compassion. These are the people who:

SOURCE NOURISHING INGREDIENTS AND PRODUCE
BRING THE NETWORK TOGETHER
SORT AND PACK
DRIVE AND DELIVER
COOK AND FEED PEOPLE IN NEED

Notes from the Kitchen

We received large donations of vegetables and utensils from Chefs with Compassion which are helping us maintain our homeless soup kitchen that feeds over 200 people daily and vulnerable children in informal settlements in Berea.

Themba Mbatha-Chalumbira,
One Moment Foundation

After my restaurant business shut down at the start of lockdown, I saw people struggling. They couldn’t get food to eat. I chose to make a difference and I started a soup kitchen to feed people, with help from my staff and family – and Chefs with Compassion.

Thandi Dyantjie,
Germiston

I used to have a catering business before Covid. Now I am involved with Chefs with Compassion in serving my community by cooking food and also sharing it with other organisations for their communities. I feed 1,500 people each week.

Busi Twala ,
Vosloorus

We would like to thank the CWC team as they continuously provide rescued produce that has helped us feed hundreds of thousands of hungry people since the start of the lockdowns.

Dr Nishaan Kishore,
Infinity Foundation

Hope of the Hopeless Centre would not be open if it was not for CWC, which came and rescued us in the pandemic.

Margo Williams,
Hope of the Hopeless, Ennerdale

CWC gives Army of Yahweh the opportunity to help other soup kitchens for children and old age homes and vulnerable people in informal settlements in different areas.

Pastor Adrian Breda,
Army of Yahweh