Revolutionary Yoga's Free Food Kitchen
In the long dark shadows of Table Mountain many Cape Town communities are fighting for their lives and the right to live with dignity and food security. Driven by this very real and urgent need to keep Cape Town’s destitute communities from starvation, we are on a mission to provide every child,every community and every family not just with a daily meal but with something far greater than that – Food Security, and the faith that grows from knowing that tomorrow will always provide.
About
In April 2019 we were struck by a very personal realisation…
Most of the women and children attending Revolutionary Yoga’s community classes with such loyalty and devotion would arrive on empty bellies only to return home to the same fate. Our yoga community was starving. And yet every week they would come to yoga just to nourish their bodies in the only way available to them
This broke our hearts. But not our spirits. And so the idea for a free food kitchen was born.
It didn’t take long for Roseline, Pamela and Adrian, along with many motivated community members, to set up the first Free Food Kitchen in Lotus River.
And as with all ideas, born of great need and raised by even greater community spirit, the Kitchen soon became a model and inspiration for more Kitchens to rise up and serve more poverty-stricken communities in Khayelitsha, Hazendal, Phillipi, Lavender Hill, Smallville, Rondevlei and Hanover Park.
Who we serve
SERVING FOOD
Every Free Food Kitchen is driven and led by the communities they feed and support. We use 100% of the donations to purchase and deliver fruit and vegetables to six communities across Cape Town.
NURTURING WOMEN LEADERS
Our kitchens are so much more than just a place that serves food. They are spaces of nurturing and growth. A place where women leaders are enabled and supported to plan, strategize and organize themselves around the creation of feeding hubs.
The women of the community lead the charge. They organize themselves into cooking teams, design the menus around nutritious vegetarian meals, cook the meals in industrial sized pots and then serve their communities, one hot meal at a time.
These kitchens give the communities and women control, dignity and respect. A luxury in communities where abuse and hunger is common place.
GROWING COMMUNITY ENTREPRENEURSHIP
The communities take great pride in being part of their Free Food Kitchens. The fruit and vegetables are purchased from female street vendors, helping to support and grow women’s economic empowerment at a community level.
DIVINE DOG KITCHEN
When humans go hungry, the dogs and cats starve.
When we first started serving our hot meals at the Free Food Kitchens, it was hard to ignore the emaciated dogs scrounging the floor for scraps. There were none. Our kitchens were barely keeping up with the growing human need.
As animal lovers, who respect all sentient beings, we knew we had to dig deep into our pockets and find a way to buy dog and cat food. This gave rise to our Divine Dogs Kitchens, where we serve the dogs and cats after we have served the humans.
In our view it’s hard to separate human and animal need. Dogs love humans unconditionally. Cats bring them comfort. The best we can do is to feed them.
GROWING FOOD. HARVESTING FOOD SECURITY
Free Food Kitchen is harvesting more hope by embarking on a sister project called FREE FOOD GARDENS. The intention is to reach and teach communities about growing their own organic food through sustainable gardening.
FREE FOOD GARDENS is a simple way for low-income communities to:
reconnect with nature
better understand the principles of health and nutrition
strengthen food security
grow into a possible source of income generation
It’s the missing link that can help build conscious communities, from the soil up.