OCT 2019 - Jhb North

GROWing
a nation
You may not be familiar with Candice
Robbertze’s lovely face but chances
are you’re familiar with her company,
Calorie Conscious, as it distributes
to more than 500 clients, including
Checkers, SPAR and Food Lover’s
Market. The company’s great-tasting
and health-savvy products are a
shopping cart staple but Robbertze
wasn’t satisfied with commercial
success – she wanted to take success
to those who need it most too. The
former Mrs SA finalist started the
Candice Robbertze Foundation in
2018 and one of the charity’s most
recent projects is the GROW initiative.
GROW stands for GRANT people at
their RESIDENCE the OPPORTUNITY
to WORK.
To understand the name, one first
needs to hear how this idea started.
‘In 2017 I was a finalist in Mrs SA,’
Robbertze says. ‘Together with the
Aganang Foundation, we did a food
parcel activation. My dear friend
Brenda Burges explained the need
people have for fresh vegetables
and she also explained that with her
background, she’d be able to teach
people to grow vegetables. As an
entrepreneur my brain went into
overdrive and the idea was born to
utilise the offcuts from my factory and
grow little plants from them. I called
my veg supplier and asked for the
pumpkin seeds and the offcuts of all
the other veggies it was processing
for customers.’
These seeds and seedlings then go to
various communities where people
are taught how to grow vegetables
all year round. Robbertze’s company
buys back some of the vegetables,
but the surplus is sold by the newlytaught
farmers/entrepreneurs in
order to provide for themselves and
their families, thus making the project
fully sustainable. ‘To me, sustainability
means the ability to support your
This Mrs SA finalist is
not just a pretty face in a
beauty pageant – she’s
digging in to ensure as
many people as possible
have healthy food and
sustainable businesses
family and yourself, and at the same
time to do less harm to the planet. We
supply the skills, the knowledge and
the start-up. I love to give the support
and encouragement people need.
When we started our first business,
Calorie Conscious, there was nobody
who could hold our hands to assist
us when we failed at something,
so I try to assist others wherever I
can.’ Calorie Conscious specialises
in super-healthy, gluten-free, lowcarb
and Banting products, so the
journey into vegetable-growing was
quite a departure from the norm for
Robbertze, who’s more comfortable in
a boardroom than a pumpkin patch
(but that doesn’t stop her rolling up
her sleeves when necessary). Her
business acumen is apparent in the
zero-waste policy GROW follows.
Whatever isn’t used to grow seedlings
goes into the compost heap to
nourish the vegetable gardens.
Various other offcuts are donated
to up-and-coming pig farmers to
feed their livestock, which ensures
no unnecessary waste is created. A
team of six staff has supported more
than 100 families with this initiative
and a further 50 people are fed each
day with what’s bought back from
the farmers. This is in addition to the
feeding scheme and soup kitchen
Robbertze’s foundation runs, which
ensures that organic vegetables
form a central component of each
meal provided. This is increasingly
important in South Africa as our
country has a problem with obesity,
largely due to the affordability of
higher calorie, unhealthy foods and
the comparatively high cost of fresh
(but perishable) fruit and vegetables.
But this is just the first step. Robbertze
has big plans for the GROW initiative.
‘I’d like to take the GROW project all
over South Africa, helping thousands
if not millions of people,’ Robbertze
says. ‘This project could assist some
of our South African entrepreneurs to
become self-sufficient. I really believe
that if people feel worthy, they get
up, dress up, show up and never give
up. It only takes one opportunity,
one person or one deal to change
everything. I believe in empowering
with passion and empowering
the nation.’
So how can we get involved?
Donations in the form of seeds,
plants, equipment or money are all
useful but it’s easy to see how simple
the GROW initiative is. If you have
a green thumb, you could start by
growing your own vegetables and
donating any surplus produce to a
nearby charity. ‘The whole world is
moving towards health. ‘Organic’ is a
buzzword. Imagine receiving a box of
organic veggies once a week, grown
and nurtured by an entrepreneur
somewhere in the middle of SA.
Firstly, that entrepreneur would be
doing a happy dance because they
made a sale and can feed their family
and grow their business. Secondly,
you’re feeling healthier because you’re
eating organic vegetables. And thirdly,
you’re part of assisting our beautiful
country and its people to decrease
the unemployment rate and crime.’
October 2019 Get It Joburg Northern Suburbs 17