WOODSTOCK | MAITLAND on your doorstep every
TUESDAY
TUESDAY 1 September 2020 | Tel: 021 910 6500 | Email: post@peoplespost.co.za | Website: www.peoplespost.co.za
The team, consisting of hundreds of volunteers produce more than 24 000 meals per day to feed vulnerable residents across Cape Town.
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PHOTOS: KAYLYNNE BANTOM
OBSERVATORY
Beer pots produce soup KAYLYNNE BANTOM @bantomkaylynne
W
hen André Viljoen, owner of Woodstock Brewery, saw the great need for food security in Cape Town at the start of the national lockdown, he knew he had to step in. Viljoen says their brewing pots were unused as a result of the alcohol ban and had used some of his time to volunteer at a friend’s soup kitchen. He then saw the need for food as an opportunity to help. “I realised that our brewing pots will be able to produce massive amounts of soup with the right processes. So, we made a few changes to our process flows and went from
producing 3 000 litres to 7 000 litres of soup per day.” Since Monday 27 April, the team at Woodstock Brewery have partnered with Great Commission United Academy, a Heideveld based youth focussed organisation that uses sport and education to uplift the community to form what is now known as the Mother Soup Project. The team, consisting of hundreds of volunteers, produce more than 24 000 meals per day for residents across Cape Town. “It’s a balanced meal with vegetable carbohydrates, proteins and fats. It’s a vegetarian meal and it’s halaal,” says Viljoen, adding they also get bread from a leading bakery. Currently, Viljoen says with a two-pot
batch they make 8 250 litres which get distributed to hundreds of soup kitchens across the city. In total more than 1.7 million meals have been distributed. Viljoen explains how they use their brewing equipment to make soup. “We use our mash tun with an agitator to mix while we are cooking. We bring it up to a boil once all the ingredients are in and boil for about 45 minutes. We then allow it to cool a little and then decant it into buckets or flow bins ready to serve. Throughout, we ensure that the combination of mincing vegetables and cooking time leaves a sufficiently viscous soup so it can be pumped.” Mario van Niekerk, founder of the academy, has been helpful in keeping people who
are in desperate need of food fed. Like many other restaurants Viljoen’s eatery has been hard hit by the lockdown. He says its future is “undetermined” at this stage. “The restaurant is closed. We have been using the main floor of the restaurant for vegetable preparation. We use one of the small kitchens to shred the veggies and it drops down into the brewing pots.” Viljoen says they will be able to reopen beer distribution at a decreased volume. Some of his staff works on the soup kitchen project as volunteers. Viljoen encouraged people to make any contribution to the soup kitchen. V Email mario@gcu.org.za or Andre@woodstockbrewery.co.za to contribute.