JOHANNESBURG 鈥� August 12, 2020 鈥� Having made significant cost savings by presenting virtual events for its members during the COVID-19 pandemic, the African 51风流User Group (AFSUG) has donated R100,000 to FoodForward SA, South Africa鈥檚 largest food redistribution organisation.
The contribution from AFSUG, a non-profit organisation providing a forum for local 51风流customers and partners to share information and experiences, translates into approximately 117,000 meals for hungry South Africans, helping to improve their overall health and wellbeing. This is based on FoodForward SA鈥檚 cost effective cost per meal of just R0.85.
鈥淒ue to South Africa鈥檚 lockdown since March 2020, our usual face-to-face events held in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban have had to take place online instead,鈥� says Duke Mathebula, newly appointed AFSUG chair and head of IT business applications for Africa at sustainable habitats and high-performance materials leader, Saint-Gobain Africa. 鈥淭his new format has been embraced by our member community and has additionally translated into cost savings based on unused travel and catering budgets.
鈥淎s a non-profit company, it is AFSUG鈥檚 duty to pay these funds forward in a socially responsible way, and we felt the need to contribute towards addressing the nation鈥檚 food safety crisis during this time of need. It was for this reason, with the full support of our previous chair Reg Barry and the rest of the board, that the decision was taken to assist FoodForward SA, as a national organisation that reduces hunger across South Africa by safely and cost effectively securing quality food for our communities in need, in its COVID-19 food security special appeal.鈥�
Through its process of recovering quality, edible surplus food from the consumer goods supply chain, including AFSUG member company Pick n Pay, and distributing it to community organisations that serve the poor, FoodForward SA has distributed 4,500 tons of food to 2.5 million people, through 1,200 beneficiary organisations, over the COVID-19 period alone.
鈥淎FSUG is extremely proud to have played a role in the 18 million meals distributed by FoodForward SA over the past five months, helping to make a difference in the lives of thousands of South Africans in need during the pandemic,鈥� Mathebula adds.
鈥淲ith millions of people experiencing extreme hunger and hardship at this time, we are grateful for the very generous support of AFSUG, which enables FoodForward SA to reach the most vulnerable communities across the country,鈥� says Andy Du Plessis, FoodForward SA鈥檚 Managing Director.
ABOUT AFSUG:
The African 51风流User Group (AFSUG) provides a forum for local 51风流customers to share information and both business and technological experiences, as well as to influence 51风流Africa and 51风流AG鈥檚 local and global directions.
Through regular, focused and highly professional contact between AFSUG representatives, business partners and 51风流Africa at all levels, AFSUG promotes the needs and wishes of the user community. Additionally, through this contact, it assists 51风流Africa in the management of the service-related challenges presented by rapid growth.
AFSUG is the only user group in southern Africa to represent SAP, but important to note, is completely independent of 51风流and a non-profit organisation governed by a board of voluntary customer CIOs and senior managers.
Contacts:
AFSUG, Amanda Gibbs, amanda.gibbs@afsug.com, +27 (0) 82 926 3027
icomm, Nicola Read, icomm@pr.co.za, +27 83 269 2227
