TANDO NKUNGWANA
Ginger Love wants you to put just R10 a month towards preventing a child from going to bed hungry through their newly launched wellness and social club.
Food insecurity across the Eastern Cape has resulted in more than 200 children dying in the last two years, due to severe acute malnutrition (SAM). In 2023, almost half a million people in the province ran out of money to buy food.
Sella Doyle, from Sella’s Soup Kitchen in Parkside, said the number of people in need in the community had accelerated in 2025, with more than 250 individuals now depending on her kitchen for meals.
Similarly, Jackie Godfrey, who runs a soup kitchen in West Bank, noted that the hunger crisis had worsened, with nearly 300 people relying on her services three times a week.
She emphasised that unemployment, insufficient family planning services and drug abuse exacerbated rampant hunger in West Bank. Ginger Love’s wellness and social club aims to use the vehicle of exercise to raise money to fight widespread hunger in these communities.
Founder of the initiative, Luché Klaasen said the club aimed to connect people, encourage people to lead healthier lifestyles and then ultimately, give back to communities in need.
She added: “The aim is to have a social run once a week, as a group, and to encourage members of the club to participate in at least one other physical activity during the week.
“Members can either pay a fee of R10 a month, or a R120 annual fee and then at the end of the year, all the proceeds will go towards charity work and food drives for those in need.
“There are more than 100 members that have already signed up.”
Ginger Love co-founder, Simone Klaasen said: “We believe in the importance of wellness and through our numerous initiatives, we aim to spread love and kindness because these attributes are crucial to holistic wellness.” One of the brand’s long-term goals is to be able to feed a child for every bottle of Ginger Love, sold.
Simone said that giving back to trauma-ridden and destitute children is a cause that remains close to her heart and is woven into the fabric of the Ginger Love brand.
She added: “We believe that if we reach out to children, we can then cultivate better adults.
“One act of kindness might not only change one child’s life but ultimately impact a generation,” she said.
Fighting child hunger and malnutrition is a core tenet of Ginger Love values as over the years, the brand has partnered with local NPO, Feed a Family and has run a collaboration Spur Group annually to provide 300 burgers for hungry children during the Christmas season.
For more details on how to become a member, whether you are a runner or walker, visit Ginger Love’s wellness and social club Instagram page @ginger_loverunningclub where a link is provided to register.
