CORPORATE SOCIAL INVESTMENT
The Pioneer Foods Fund
The creation of the Fund is a quest to demonstrate intent and focus in CSI initiatives in order to enrich existing strategies. Through the Fund, Pioneer Foods strives to assist government in solving socio-economic challenges.
The focus of The Pioneer Foods Fund remains on the areas of nutrition, agriculture, environment and disaster relief. The Fund’s targeted socio-economic development (SED) initiatives strengthen the link between the Group’s core business and its social contribution.
Given the Fund’s mandate, it continues to explore partnerships with external stakeholders that share the Group’s strategic intent.
This is in addition to the various CSI investments made by the divisions, in their respective communities.
Some of the projects that The Pioneer Foods Fund has been supporting over the last year, are:
Food and Trees For Africa (FTFA), a well established NPO, has a successful model that will be replicated through their permaculture starter pack programme. The Pioneer Foods Fund partnered with FTFA to distribute 10 permaculture starter packs to support fledgling food gardens. The Fund is already supporting six existing projects with successful track records, as well as distributing two starter packs each to two new projects.
FoodBank South Africa entered into a capacity-building partnership with The Pioneer Foods Fund. In 2010 the Fund piloted two learnerships, paying for the salaries and training of two logistics management graduates.
Table Mountain Fund (TMF), a subsidiary of WWF-SA is working in alliance with The Pioneer Foods Fund as the Group’s first environmental initiative. TMF, together with CapeNature, is conducting biodiversity management interventions in the Boland.
Grassroot Soccer (GRS), founded by former professional soccer players in 2002, trains African soccer stars, coaches, teachers, and peer educators to deliver an interactive HIV prevention and life skills curriculum to youth. The Fund was a sponsor of Grassroot Soccer’s winter 2010 holiday ‘Skillz’ camps. Although sport is not a Pioneer Foods Fund focus area, the Grassroot Soccer model is first and foremost a social development project, with soccer as a means to an end, it is the reward for the learning. More than 25 000 meals were provided over the four-week period. The Fund saw the opportunity to combine food provision with nutrition education. An integral part of the modules was that the learners will spread the message throughout their communities. The Fund aimed to convey information about inexpensive, balanced nutrition to these 4 500 kids. While the project was initiated during the hype around the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, the project will continue long after August 2010.
Other beneficiaries from The Pioneer Foods Fund include:
- African Children Feeding Scheme
- Goue Aar Old Age Home*
- Scarce Skills Bursary programme*
- Christel House School
- University of the Free State*
- Stellenbosch Community Development Programme
- The Warehouse Trust
- MaAfrika Tikkun
A graphic presentation of the work done by The Pioneer Foods Fund is depicted in the following graphs:
