Kellogg’s South Africa is strengthening its long-standing commitment to advancing sustainable and equitable access to food with the launch of the Better Days Gardens programme in the Eastern Cape, expanding its response to food insecurity in one of the country’s most vulnerable provinces.
The official launch of the Better Days Gardens programme in the Eastern Cape took place on Tuesday, 26 May 2026 at Kama Primary School in Gqeberha, bringing together Kellogg’s South Africa, government representatives, implementing partners and key stakeholders, including the Department of Education. Attendees also received an address from Pumla Gxuluwe, NSNP Director at the Eastern Cape Department of Education. The event marked a significant milestone in the expansion of the initiative into the province, reinforcing a shared commitment to strengthening food security, education outcomes and community resilience.
According to Statistics South Africa, approximately 22.2% of households experience inadequate or severely inadequate access to food, with the Eastern Cape among the hardest hit, where more than 30% of households face food insecurity challenges.
The expansion reflects Kellogg’s continued evolution from short-term food relief to long-term, community-led food system solutions that strengthen resilience, skills development and household nutrition security.
For over a decade, Kellogg’s has addressed child hunger through its Better Days Promise programme, delivering more than 68 million meals to learners across Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape since 2014.
While school feeding remains a critical intervention, the company is increasingly focused on addressing the root causes of food insecurity through programmes that enable communities to grow, produce and sustain their own food.
First launched in Gauteng in 2024, the Better Days Gardens initiative has supported more than 2,400 learners, while also promoting nutrition education, agricultural skills development and water-efficient gardening practices[LM1.1].
The Eastern Cape expansion will see the establishment of five new school food gardens, reaching approximately 2,400 learners in identified food-insecure communities.
The programme is implemented in partnership with local stakeholders and community-based organisations[ZN2.1][LM2.2], ensuring schools function not only as learning environments, but also as spaces for food production, nutrition support and community empowerment.
Commenting on the partnership, Dineo Mahasha, Managing Director of Reel Life NPC, said:
“As Reel Life, we are proud to continue our partnership with Kellogg’s through the Better Days Promise initiative to address food insecurity in vulnerable Eastern Cape communities. This project is about more than establishing school gardens, it is about creating sustainable access to nutritious food, empowering schools and communities with agricultural skills, and restoring dignity through food security. Many children rely on school feeding programmes as their primary source of daily nutrition, and through this partnership we are helping to strengthen those systems while creating long-term community resilience. We believe that sustainable food production, education, and collaboration are critical in building healthier futures for our children and communities.”
Each garden will complement existing school nutrition programmes by providing fresh vegetables for school meals, while equipping learners and families with practical skills in sustainable food production.
The launch takes place ahead of World Hunger Day on 28 May, reinforcing the urgent need for collective action to address systemic hunger and inequality.
Commenting on the expansion, Philip Nieman, General Manager at Kellogg’s South Africa[ZN3.1], said: “Hunger is not only about food availability, but also about access, dignity, and long-term opportunity. Our responsibility is to help build systems that ensure communities can sustain themselves long after intervention.”
The Better Days Promise remains central to Kellogg’s ESG commitment to advancing equitable access to food, with a global ambition to reach 4 billion people by 2030 through improved nutrition and food security.
In South Africa, the Eastern Cape expansion marks the next phase of this journey, anchored in sustainability, partnership and long-term impact.
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Link:
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Video:
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Kellogg’s Expands Better Days Gardens Programme to Eastern Cape This World Hunger Day
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Author: Lebogang Mashangoane
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