What SA Harvest does

SA Harvest is a South African non-profit food rescue and hunger relief organisation, registered as a Non-Profit Company (NPC) under registration 2016/326676/08 and headquartered in Johannesburg with regional hubs in Cape Town and Durban. Founded in 2019 with a single van in Cape Town, the organisation collects surplus food from corporate donors — including Shoprite, Nestlé, Unilever, Tiger Brands, McCain, Discovery, PepsiCo, and over 50 other retailers, manufacturers, and farmers — and redistributes it free of charge to a network of 243+ registered community-based organisations (CBOs), early childhood development centres, shelters, and community kitchens serving vulnerable populations. Since founding, SA Harvest has delivered 111.16 million meals and rescued 28.13 million kg of food from landfill at a stated operational cost of R0.90 per meal, operating its own fleet, warehouses, and cold chain infrastructure with logistics support from partners including DSV and CHEP.

The organisation's technology layer includes a Smart Vetting System (mobile-app-based beneficiary verification launched March 2025), nutritional tracking technology for impact measurement, and a Virtual Food Pantry digital donation platform launched for GivingTuesday 2024. Its core revenue model is charitable donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations, with tax-deductible status for South African taxpayers (subject to a 10% taxable income limit) and U.S. donors via CAF America. Additional income is generated through corporate partnerships (Liberty funded 30,000 meals; H&M donated R1 million), event activations at V&A Waterfront and Melrose Arch, and cause-marketing collaborations with media partner Daily Maverick.

SA Harvest operates as a community-led GTM motion: supply comes from donor relationships managed by regional procurement teams (e.g., Janine Levy in Gauteng), demand comes from a vetted CBO network managed by CBO Liaison Managers, and distribution is executed through three regional hubs with national coordination. The organisation is governed by a board chaired by Gidon Novick, with founder Alan Browde shifting focus to systemic change initiatives in February 2025 and Ozzy Nel appointed CEO in November 2025.

Name

SA Harvest

Legal name

SA Harvest NPC

Website

https://saharvest.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SA Harvest is a South African non-profit founded in 2019 that rescues surplus food from corporate donors and redistributes it free of charge to 243+ community-based organisations serving vulnerable populations, having delivered over 111 million meals nationally at R0.90 per meal.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Rescue and Hunger Relief Services

NAICS

Community Food Services (62421), Community Food Services (624210)

akta.pro primary industry

Food Assistance & Nutrition Relief (Emergency Feeding) (BPAGAAAD)

Keywords

• Food rescue logistics
• Surplus food redistribution
• Hunger relief services
• Food waste reduction
• Community nutrition support

Headquarters

HQ city

Johannesburg

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Charitable Donations: SA Harvest operates as a registered Non-Profit Company (NPC) and Non-Profit Organisation (NPO). Charitable donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations fund all operations. Donations are tax-deductible for SA taxpayers (subject to 10% limit of taxable income) and U.S. taxpayers via CAF.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

SA Harvest collects surplus food from retailers, manufacturers, farmers, and food-service companies; verifies beneficiary organisations; and stores and delivers rescued food free to community-based organisations, early childhood development centres, shelters, and community kitchens across South Africa. Its operations combine a national logistics, fleet, warehouse, and cold-chain network with hunger-relief, advocacy, and technology-enabled measurement of impact.

Product overview

SA Harvest is a national food rescue and hunger relief non-profit organization. Their core offering is rescuing nutritious food that would otherwise go to landfill and delivering it, for free, to beneficiary organizations across South Africa. The organization operates through integrated logistics, warehouse, fleet, and distribution systems spanning Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, and Lusikisiki. Key programs include core food rescue operations, the Buckets of Nutrition initiative, Virtual Food Pantry digital platform, Smart Vetting System for beneficiary verification, and Advocacy & Education programs. The organization leverages technology for operational efficiency and scalability while maintaining a focus on systemic intervention to address hunger.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Food Rescue Operations
• Hunger Relief
• Smart Vetting System
• Virtual Food Pantry

Quantifiable outcome

• 111.16 million meals delivered since 2019
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

22 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• TashascoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRestaurant group partnering with SA Harvest to donate surplus food for redistribution to communities in need. Tashas locations include Cape Town Waterfront.
• LibertycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFinancial services company partnered with SA Harvest to feed 30,000 people through food rescue and hunger relief programs.
• Daily MaverickcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia partner collaborating on awareness campaigns and content to highlight food insecurity and SA Harvest's impact.
• ShopritecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor retail chain donating surplus food to SA Harvest for redistribution to beneficiary organisations.
• NestlécoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFood and beverage manufacturer providing surplus product donations for food rescue operations.
• UnilevercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsumer goods company partnering with SA Harvest for surplus food donations and ESG initiatives.
• Tiger BrandscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor food manufacturer providing surplus product donations for redistribution.
• McCaincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrozen foods company donating surplus production to SA Harvest.
• DiscoverycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFinancial and health services company supporting SA Harvest's hunger relief initiatives.
• Fair Cape DairiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDairy company partnered as exclusive beneficiary for product donations. Partnership milestone: half a million meals delivered.
• V&A WaterfrontcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPremier shopping destination hosting SA Harvest events and activations including Mandela Day campaigns.
• Melrose ArchcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMixed-use precinct partnering on community events including Carols by Candlelight and Mandela Day activations.
• PumaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSports brand supporting SA Harvest as corporate partner.
• DiageominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBeverage company supporting SA Harvest through product donations.
• OneFarm SharecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgricultural platform collaborating on surplus produce rescue and redistribution.
• DSVcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLogistics partner collaborating on supply chain solutions to deliver surplus produce across South Africa, including Eastern Cape operations.
• CHEPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupply chain solutions provider partnering to overcome logistical hurdles in food rescue distribution.
• EngencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnergy company powering the future of South Africa's food security through partnerships with SA Harvest.
• bp South AfricacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnergy company partnered to fuel the country and reduce food insecurity through food rescue logistics support.
• The Sharks (Rugby Club)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRugby team partnering to unlock growth of hunger relief in KwaZulu-Natal.
• Rugby LegendsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSouth African Rugby Legends Association partnering on annual food drops and hunger relief initiatives.
• OzHarvestcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational food rescue organisation from Australia, providing mentorship and support. Founder Ronni Kahn AO visited to celebrate SA Harvest's 50 million meal milestone.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• OzHarvest: Australia's largest food-rescue organisation — directly comparable model (collecting surplus food from corporate donors and redistributing to charities), and a formal mentor and partner to SA Harvest through founder Ronni Kahn AO.
• The Felix Project: London-based food-rescue charity collecting surplus from suppliers and delivering to charities and schools — operates the equivalent direct-distribution food-rescue model that SA Harvest deploys across its three regional hubs.
• FoodForward SA: South African food-rescue and redistribution non-profit operating a national network — operates the same surplus-to-beneficiary model as SA Harvest within the same country and is even featured among its corporate partners.
• City Harvest: New York City's largest food-rescue organisation collecting surplus from corporate donors and delivering free to community food programmes — equivalent donor-to-beneficiary distribution model to SA Harvest at urban scale.
• Second Harvest: Canada's largest food-rescue organisation — runs the same surplus-food-rescue-to-charities national operating model as SA Harvest, with logistics infrastructure and corporate donor relationships of directly comparable nature.
• Foodbank Australia: Australia's largest hunger-relief charity running a national food-rescue and redistribution network — directly parallel to SA Harvest's national hunger-relief footprint, including corporate donor partnerships and warehousing.
• FareShare: UK-based charity rescuing surplus food from the supply chain and redistributing to community organisations — directly comparable operating model (donor supply, warehouse logistics, beneficiary network) to SA Harvest.
• FoodCloud: Ireland-origin food rescue technology platform connecting retailers with charities to redistribute surplus — comparable in both physical food rescue operations and technology-platform enablement of the model SA Harvest extends with its Smart Vetting System.

Emerging players

• Too Good To Go: Global marketplace app connecting consumers to surplus food from retailers and restaurants — overlaps with SA Harvest's surplus-food-recovery space but operates a consumer-purchase model rather than a free redistribution model, positioning it as an adjacent emerging player.

Broad incumbents

• Feeding America: Largest US hunger-relief organisation coordinating a national network of food banks and rescue logistics — operates the same surplus-redistribution playbook as SA Harvest at vastly greater scale, anchoring the global category.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/saharvest1
• Facebookfacebook.com/saharvest
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sa-harvest

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SA Harvest