Surfers behind ongoing feeding scheme in J’Bay

The porridge is distributed to feeding kitchens, old age homes, schools, and any place that might have hungry people. Photos: SUPPLIED

WHEN the lockdown hit the country last year, two surfers launched the Let’s Feed JBay feeding scheme, to help those who were locked down without any way of earning money and buying food.

World Qualifying Series surfer, Dylan Lightfoot, and JBay local “Chokka” Trahms, started the scheme. They started doing the hard yards of collecting food donations from farmers and those who had a surplus.

The feeding process is based on a highly nutritious corn and soya-based porridge.

This food was delivered to those people who were not getting anything from the government or their employers.

They were soon joined by others wanting to help, including the like of former world longboard champion Steve Sawyer, Remi Peterson and Toby Schroeder, to name a few.

When the hard lockdown ended and the surfers restarted their lives, the Let’s Feed JBay project ended up in the lap of Louisa Lightfoot. This is where Cheron Kraak joined her long-time friend in a bid to secure further funding and to keep feeding JBay.

To help those in need, Kraak and Lightfoot reached out to the local and global surfing community that has enjoyed the waves and the town of JBay.

“People like Paul Naude and Gordon Merchant, Sir Grevil Mitchell, Pat O’Connel and Damien Fahrenfort, organisations like the World Surf League and Boardriders, and professional surfers like Kelly Slater and John John Florence got involved,” said Kraak.

The next fund-raising campaign is being spearheaded by multiple world surfing champion Mick Fanning, the surfer who is best remembered for being bumped off his board by a great white shark.

The feeding scheme started with food donations from farmers and those who had a surplus.

Fanning is doing a multi-tiered giveaway to raise more funds to feed JBay.

“The feeding process is based on a highly nutritious corn and soya-based porridge. While, at first, the feeding scheme had gone beyond JBay to outlying villages and districts, it is now focused on feeding those in JBay,” explained Kraak.

The corn/soya porridge was distributed to the feeding kitchens, old-age homes, schools, and any place that might have hungry people. It is still being distributed, and there is still a need for further fund-raising and distribution.