Falaah began with a simple question: what if we could give hope to people who have run out of it? A small group of family and friends pooled what they had and cooked two pots of food, enough for 300 people. The need we saw that day stayed with us. Children went to bed hungry and elderly neighbours skipped meals to stretch a pension. Some families had not eaten in days.
We registered Falaah Foundation as a non-profit company in 2020 and began feeding in April 2021. In our first year we served 24,000 meals. In our second, we served more than 100,000. By March 2025 we had passed 300,000 meals, all through the generosity of ordinary people who decided someone else’s hunger was their concern too.
Falaah is an Arabic word for true success and wellbeing. We believe real success is measured by what we give, which is why our motto is Nourishing for Success.
On a cooking day, volunteers prepare large pots of nutritious food such as akni, or dhal and rice, at our kitchen in Ottery. Trusted distribution partners collect the pots and serve them in their own neighbourhoods, because they know who is most in need. One cooking day of nine pots feeds around 2,750 people.
We also supply ingredients to partner kitchens in Belhar and Lavender Hill. We run food parcel drives during Ramadan and the festive season, and we hold special initiatives for children, the elderly and orphanages.
We have fed families in Lavender Hill, Vrygrond, Khayelitsha, Egoli, Retreat, Manenberg, Tafelsig, Mitchells Plain, Steenberg, Parkwood, Hanover Park, Bishop Lavis, Heideveld, Milnerton, Schaapkraal, Seawinds, Belhar, Samora Machel and more. We serve everyone in need, regardless of colour, race or religion.
The problems of the world are bigger than any one of us, but everything great began with a humble start. A warm meal does not end poverty. It tells someone they are seen, valued and not forgotten, and it gives them the strength to face another day.
Because people trust us with their donations, we report on every feeding, publish our annual reports and financial statements, and use every rand for the purpose it was given.
Our directors are volunteers and draw no salary.
Feeding today is only the beginning. Our long-term goal is sustainable feeding that changes lives:
- Breakfast for learners. A daily breakfast shake for foundation-phase children at schools in our communities, so they can learn without hunger.
- Community-run kitchens. Kitchens that communities run themselves, creating dignity and the value of work.
- A connected network. A platform linking donors, organisations, communities and a food bank, so every rand feeds more people.
Public Benefit Organisation (SARS): 930072727 · Non-Profit Organisation: 261-989
Section 18A tax certificates available on request
