Cooks spice things up for soup challenge as South Africa marks Mandela Day

Dozens of chefs, community cooks, caterers, and culinary students are rolling up their sleeves in kitchens across South Africa this Mandela Day, united by one mission: fighting hunger, one pot of soup at a time.

Since 2009, South Africans have honoured Nelson Mandela’s legacy by volunteering 67 minutes of their time, one for each year he dedicated to public service. This year, a group of volunteer cooks is going big, aiming to prepare 67,000 litres of soup to feed the country’s most vulnerable.

"In our first year, I think 2020, we already exceeded the 67,000 litres," said Hanneke Van Linge, Head of Nosh Food Rescue. "Last year, we did 104,000 litres in one day. Hotels, culinary schools, feeding schemes — they're all cooking with rescued, donated produce and putting in as many litres as they can."

The initiative is led by the NGO Chefs with Compassion, founded during the COVID-19 lockdown. Executive chef and chairman James Khoza said the rising cost of food and high unemployment are fuelling the country’s hunger crisis.

"If you look at prices, they’ve gone through the roof," he said. "Mandela Day highlights hunger, poverty, and shows that chefs like us can do something meaningful."

Despite being one of Africa’s top food producers, over 20 million South Africans go hungry daily, according to the 2024 National Food and Nutrition Security Survey. At the same time, 10.3 million tons of food are wasted annually, a crisis driven by poverty, inequality, and climate change.