As part of Cities Changing Diabetes in Johannesburg, the National
Youth Development Agency (NYDA), together with Youth in Agriculture
and Rural Development (YARD), members of the community, and Novo
Nordisk South-Africa have established a food garden at the RiverPark
Clinic. The team from YARD has provided the expertise and taught
volunteers how to plant, grow and manage the food garden. Produce goes
directly to people who live with diabetes to increase their access to
healthy food.
NYDA addresses challenges faced by the nation’s youth and initiates
programmes that alleviate poverty and combat crime and substance
abuse. YARD is a collective of young farmers who teach people how to
grow their own food as a way to address food insecurity.
Many of the communities around RiverPark Clinic experience
unemployment and are impacted by rising food prices. The Clinic staff
started the garden with the hope of being able to share the food with
the community they serve. RiverPark Clinic is run by the City of
Johannesburg and has been collaborating with Cities Changing Diabetes
in Johannesburg for several years. Local partners are looking into
expanding the concept of food gardens to other clinics and schools
later this year. A great initiative and we look forward to sharing
more as the gardens take root.
You can read more
about our partner city of Johannesburg
here.
