Across South Africa, trucks are proving that the nation’s roads can deliver more than freight – they can deliver food security. SA Harvest’s award-winning reverse-logistics network is turning millions of kilograms of rescued food into sustenance for hundreds of thousands of needy South Africans. Fittingly, its efforts were recently honoured with a prestigious pan-African ASCEA (Africa Supply Chain Excellence Awards) accolade.
With South African truck fleets stepping up to keep the SA Harvest supply chain moving, everything from donated back-haul capacity to temperature-controlled deliveries are seeing truckers deliver 22 million kilograms of rescued food to hungry communities while cutting waste along the way. This is supply chain work with a heart, and a reminder that logistics can change lives.
ASCEA has recognised SA Harvest’s tech-enabled reverse-logistics model with the programme’s premier Judges’ Spotlight Award (the single overall award across all categories) together with the Humanitarian & Health Supply Chain Management Award, jointly with VillageReach. The awards drew more than 200 submissions from 48 African countries, with organisers positioning the Spotlight as the top entry of the night.
Recognition for a system, not a moment
What impressed judges was not a one-off project but a system: an orchestration layer across the food value chain that intercepts surplus food at source – from farms and manufacturers to distributors and retailers – and reroutes it, safely and cost-effectively, to vetted community-based organisations (CBOs) at zero cost to those frontline partners.
The model links donors, logistics providers, storage and last-mile partners into one cohesive ecosystem, using digital matching and route optimisation to reduce empty kilometres and keep nutritious food moving.
That operating system now runs at national scale. SA Harvest co-ordinates three primary warehouses and a partner-fleet footprint that reaches all nine provinces, integrating donated back-haul and temperature-controlled capacity to expand the range of foods moved reliably.
Over the past two years, the organisation has doubled national cold-storage capacity and is piloting greenhouse growing and dehydration technologies to extend shelf life and stabilise supply at community level. In the past year, more than 100 CBOs have been trained in food safety, storage and logistics.
Outcomes that validate the mechanism
Measured outcomes demonstrate the model’s effectiveness. The network supports 243 CBOs and reaches 100 782 people every day. Cumulative climate benefits include approximately 53 000 tonnes of CO₂ avoided through landfill diversion and around 20 billion litres of embedded water conserved through food rescue. Logistics efficiencies add a further estimated 10 000 tonnes of CO₂ avoided annually. In parallel, removing the cost of food to partners has unlocked roughly R210-million in wholesale value (over R314-million at retail equivalence) that CBOs can redirect to essential services.
Agility proven under stress
The model’s resilience has been tested in crisis. During the 2021 Durban unrest, SA Harvest repurposed a major venue into an emergency logistics hub and coordinated partners to distribute more than half a million meals within 48 hours – a demonstration of surge capacity and collaborative control-tower execution that now informs standard operating playbooks.
“The judges recognised SA Harvest for operational excellence and social impact, combining disciplined reverse logistics with a people-first approach to serve vulnerable communities at scale. It’s a best-in-class example of supply chain for good,” said Garry Marshall, Head Judge, Africa Supply Chain Excellence Awards.
An invitation to scale with partners
With peer recognition spotlighting the system rather than the silverware, SA Harvest is focused on scaling what works. “Recognition from our peers matters because it validates the logistics engine behind our mission,” says Ozzy Nel, Chief Operations Officer (COO) at SA Harvest. “But the real story is what comes next.
“Thousands of community organisations are already waiting to be brought into the network. The challenge (and the opportunity) is to match that need by rescuing more food, underpinned by the right mix of warehouse space, cold chain reach and smart fleet capacity. When those pieces come together, the model doesn’t just move food; it multiplies impact, cuts emissions, and strengthens communities at scale.”
As of 12 August 2025, SA Harvest has rescued 22 million kilograms of food, reflecting steady growth of a model designed for replication with the right partners.
Editor’s comment: Truckers, fleets and logistics partners – SA Harvest needs you. Every back-haul, every refrigerated delivery, every kilometre counts in turning what would be waste food into wonderful meals that tackle hunger at grassroots level. Join the movement, extend the reach and be part of a supply chain that doesn’t just deliver goods – it delivers life-giving nutrients to communities across South Africa. And it’s a big thumbs up to those trucking companies who are already volunteering their services.
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