CAPE TOWN (WESTERN CAPE), SOUTH AFRICA — Three weeks after deciding to convert its beer tanks into giant soup-making tanks, Drifter Brewing Company has fed more than 75,000 people across ten different communities in Cape Town. Operation Soup-A-Heroes is addressing the hunger crisis exacerbated by the COVID-19 lockdown, especially for those who live hand to mouth. To keep this project going, individual donations can be contributed through Quicket .
“Food security has always been an issue in our country and with the rate of unemployment on the rise, the need for meals will only continue to grow,” says Nick Bush, Director and Co-Founder of Drifter. “Our beer business is taking a hard knock right now, but the silver lining is using our space to make huge quantities of food. Our brewing system is a 1000L tank, so a single batch of the soup can feed at least 2500 people. And we’re cooking multiple batches in a day, which means we can feed up to 10,000 people come dinner time.”
Since the alcohol ban went into effect in South Africa on March 27, local breweries and restaurants have found creative ways to try and stay afloat. At the very least, they’ve made use of their equipment for other purposes. Craft breweries typically use the equivalent of giant kettles to make beer. Across the country, this equipment is being repurposed as giant cooking pots to make mass quantities of nutritional soup. It’s then delivered to NGOs for distribution among the communities.
Woodstock Brewery initiated the soup production effort for the industry, setting up a ‘blueprint’ for other breweries like Drifter to follow. Now Drifter has taken the helm, working in collaboration with the other breweries, NGOs and volunteers to produce and distribute soup daily. Soup-A-Heroes relies on donations from the public to continue feeding these Cape Town communities, which include Hanover Park, Heideveld, Retreat, Tafelsig, Lavender Hill, Bunoon, Kraaifontein, Langa, Khayelitsha and Gugulethu.
Here’s the link to donate. Be sure to follow along our social media (@drifterbrewing) as we continue our efforts.
— The Drifter Brewing Co. Crew