Helping feed 600 000 South African’s on a monthly basis are five UD40L trucks. Which now form part of the Shoprite Mobile Soup Kitchen fleet.

Gawie du Toit, national transport manager for Shoprite, says, “The company is grateful to partner with UD Trucks, one of its key vehicle sponsors, on this very important project.”

The Shoprite Mobile Soup Kitchens, in association with their partners, provides a nutritional meal of soup and bread to approximately 600 000 South Africans in need on a monthly basis. It is estimated that the feeding programme will extend its reach to close to eight million people this year.

Neil Schreuder, marketing director at Shoprite Checkers adds, “In a country where only one in five families are food secure and micronutrient deficiency is a reality, this project aims to address hunger and malnutrition by providing food to school children, senior citizens and hundreds of thousands of people affected by job losses. In times of disaster such as floods or fires, the mobile units are deployed to offer relief in the most affected areas. We believe that our Mobile Soup Kitchens don’t only offer a cup of soup, but provides a meal of hope.”

These trucks are now part of a fleet of 22, operate seven days a week to identify suitable areas and provide meals to needy communities nationwide. Each vehicle is manned by two well-trained crews to ensure maximum optimisation, and is kitted with a fully-functional kitchen and gas cooking equipment where the nutritional soup is prepared. Each truck is also able to carry 500-litres of water, as many of the areas visit have very limited access to water.

One of the major challenges for the Shoprite Mobile Soup Kitchen fleet is the tough road conditions drivers have to deal with, especially in remote rural areas.

UD Trucks has fitted a special ‘off-road’ kit to the UD 40L units to protect especially the suspension and under carriage on each of the trucks. The kits are extremely successful and include teflon suspension bushes, heavy-duty shock absorbers and a protector plate under the engine to safeguard the drive train from rocks and ruts.

Jacques Carelse, managing director of UD Trucks Southern Africa states, “We are extremely proud to now be part of this very vital project. The UD Trucks vehicles are ready to travel to the far-flung reaches of the country in order to provide meals to the many people in need. As a local manufacturer, we are very grateful for the opportunity to make a tangible difference in people’s lives.”

The Shoprite Mobile Soup Kitchen project has been running since 2009 and has distributed more than 16 million cups of soup to needy South African around the country.

The Mobile Soup Kitchens allow Shoprite to reach the poorest areas in South Africa and distribute warm, hearty food to those in need. With inception in March 2009, there were only two Mobile Soup Kitchen units serving Gauteng and the North West Province. Later that year, eight more trucks were added to the number, allowing more people to be reached in other disadvantaged communities.

The total fleet of Mobile Soup units deployed across South Africa are as follows: two in the Western Cape, three in the Eastern Cape, two in the Free State, three in KwaZulu-Natal, three in Gauteng, two in Mpumalanga, four in Limpopo and three in North West.