Well-known food charity Ladles of Love has smashed a world record this Mandela Day by creating the world’s biggest mosaic made out of cans of food.
With the help of corporate sponsors and enthusiastic volunteers, the charity organisation managed to place almost 90 000 cans of food on two giant mosaics – one at Cape Town’s CTICC and one in Johannesburg’s Nelson Mandela Square.
The attempt was hosted in two cities to provide more than one way for individuals and businesses to volunteer 67 minutes of their time to charity or to donate to the cause.
In Johannesburg, volunteers placed 32 040 food cans on a mosaic of the South African flag, while the Cape Town group placed 56 685 food cans on a mosaic image of former president Nelson Mandela.
Volunteers also chopped and donated 1.3 tonnes of vegetables in Johannesburg and 2.5 tonnes in Cape Town. Some 7 000 sandwiches were made in Johannesburg and 24 000 on site in Cape Town. With thousands of sandwiches also made off site and donated later, the grand total of sandwiches came to 55 000.
Enough to feed thousands
Ladles of Love says it not only smashed the world record but succeeded in yet another attempt to feed destitute citizens experiencing food insecurity, thanks to the donations of tins of food, fresh nutritious meals and money raised.
“While this was a huge undertaking, the organisation works tirelessly and all year long, supplying a million nourishing meals a month to communities in need,” it says in a press release.
“Today was huge, and the spirit of Ubuntu in both cities was incredible,” says Danny Diliberto, founder and CEO of Ladles of Love. “We placed around 90 000 food cans on the mosaics across the two cities and we’ve raised so much in terms of actual food and support to carry on with our mission to feed as many people as we can for as long as we can, and we cannot thank those that got involved enough.”
Ladles of Love says it extends a heartfelt thank you to all the people and businesses that stepped up to support a successful world record attempt and the alleviation of hunger.
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