An elderly couple from Grassy Park are spreading hope throughout their community with their Bin Pickers Ministries project, feeding nearly 800 people with their monthly pension.
Kenneth and Heather Felix first started feeding the regular bin pickers in South Close Street during lockdown in 2020.
The pensioners who have four children and five grandchildren, within three weeks, they started preparing coffee, bread with soup, pap, rolls and polony smoortjies for 25 mense.
Heather, 67, said although the demand grew, they’ve never skipped a feeding week.
“We are both pensioners and use our monthly grant to purchase the goods we need for the feeding project. Over time, we have started getting in donations from friends and families and some organisations who have heard about what we do.
“The donations really lightens the load and helps us reach more people. We feed nearly 800 people per week.”
Kenneth, 72, adds: “During the lockdown, the bin pickers were still collecting scrap but couldn't sell it because every scrapyard was closed.
“The lock down carried on for much longer than expected and the people were without money and food. Four years later, we’re feeding the bin pickers, children, families, farm workers, four different informal settlements, we go into dangerous areas most of the time but we keep on feeding.
“On a Tuesday it's bin pickers day, Wednesdays an NGO supplies us with cooked food and soup, on a Saturday we get noodles from Invisible Hands and every day we feed 20 to 30 people from our home with bread, rolls food, fruit and coffee or cooldrinks.
“We also give clothes food parcels and whatever we get as donations.”
To donate to the Bin Pickers Ministries, WhatsApp Heather on 082 957 2441