Ladles of Love

What Ladles of Love does

Ladles of Love is a South African non-profit organization founded in 2014 by Danny Diliberto that provides food relief, nutrition, and urban farming services to vulnerable populations. It operates five core programmes: Nourish Our Children (weekly bulk food deliveries to Early Childhood Development centres providing two daily meals to children and teachers), Dignity Kitchen (soup kitchens in Cape Town and Johannesburg serving 3,500+ hot meals weekly), Feed the Soil (food waste composting diverted to urban farmers), Community Kitchens (21 community-built kitchens in partnership with Pan African Women's Organisation), and the annual Mandela Day flagship event. The organization serves three South African provinces — Western Cape, Northern Cape, and Gauteng — supporting 126+ preschools and reaching 13,500–14,500 children daily, with a cumulative 48 million+ meals served since 2020.

The business model is a multi-stream non-profit funding structure rather than a revenue model. Income is generated through individual recurring donations (R250–R300/month child sponsorship, plus one-time gifts), tiered corporate partnerships (Headline R1.5M, Gold R750K, Silver R500K) that include BBBEE/CSI benefits and Section 18A tax certificates, annual Mandela Day events (group packages R700–R1,250/person, plus a R3.5M+ 2025 campaign), an online shop for branded merchandise and donation vouchers, and the Feed the Soil market (Food Waste Kits at R220 and pop-up produce sales). GTM is hybrid: event-driven (Mandela Day flagship), community-led (volunteer / "Love Activist" identity with a 14,233-subscriber weekly newsletter), and direct enterprise sales to corporate CSI partners.

Underlying operational infrastructure includes a centralized warehouse in Epping 2 (Cape Town) and a Gauteng regional hub in Wynberg (Johannesburg), a food tracking and accountability system that weighs and measures dry goods from receipt to distribution, and a digital presence of 51,400 social followers. The organization holds NPO (203-599) and PBO (930062925) registration, BBBEE and POPIA compliance, and an NGOsource Enhanced Due Diligence verification. Notable brand assets include a Guinness World Record (304,583 sandwiches in one hour, Mandela Day 2020) and R65M+ in publicity value from the 2025 Mandela Day campaign.

Name

Ladles of Love

Legal name

Ladles of Love Foundation

Website

https://ladlesoflove.org.za

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ladles of Love is a South African non-profit founded in 2014 that provides food relief, nutrition, and urban farming services. It serves 13,500+ vulnerable preschool children, destitute adults through soup kitchens, and urban farmers through food-waste composting across Western Cape, Northern Cape, and Gauteng.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Relief and Nutrition Services

NAICS

Community Food Services (62421), Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Retail-Eating Places (5812), Services-Child Day Care Services (8351)

akta.pro primary industry

Child Nutrition & Meal Programs (CACFP/Snack Programs) (EDACAMAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

School Feeding & Child Nutrition Programs (BPADAJAD), School Feeding & Social Protection Partnerships (Conditional Cash Transfers, etc.) (EDADALAL)

Keywords

• Food relief services
• Nutrition programmes
• Community upliftment
• Food waste composting
• Preschool meal support

Headquarters

HQ city

Cape Town

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Monthly recurring donations from individuals sponsoring children at R250-R300/month, providing two daily nutritious meals to preschool children and their teachers. One-time donations also accepted.
2. Corporate Partnerships: Corporate sponsorships through multiple tiers (Headline Partner R1.5M, Gold Partner R750K, Silver Partner R500K), 12-month preschool partnerships, and team-building event bookings. Includes BBBEE qualifying CSI spend benefits.
3. Mandela Day Events: Annual flagship events at DHL Stadium Cape Town and Expo Centre Johannesburg, with group packages (R35,000-R62,500), ticket sales (R700-R1,250/person), and Hands-On Hero Kits for remote participation.
4. Online Shop: Merchandise sales (Love Activist branded items) and donation vouchers. All profits directed to ongoing programs. Eco-friendly approach using upcycled materials.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Ladles of Love is a registered South African non-profit that provides food relief and nutrition programmes to vulnerable children and destitute adults. It delivers weekly bulk food to early childhood development (ECD) centres, runs soup kitchens serving hot meals to the homeless, operates food waste composting and urban farming initiatives, and mobilises volunteers through annual flagship events such as Mandela Day. Funding is generated through individual donations, corporate CSI/BBBEE partnerships, event ticket sales, and branded merchandise.

Product overview

Ladles of Love is a non-profit food relief organisation operating multiple interconnected programmes focused on nutrition, early childhood development, and community upliftment. The core offerings include the Nourish Our Children Programme providing daily meals to preschoolers, Dignity Kitchen serving hot meals to destitute individuals, Feed the Soil urban farming initiative, and annual Mandela Day volunteer events. Supporting offerings include an Online Shop for branded merchandise and donations, Love Books literacy campaign, Sandwich Drive volunteer initiative, Community Kitchens sustainable empowerment programme, and Realise A Dream community support. The organisation serves vulnerable populations across Western Cape, Northern Cape, and Gauteng provinces in South Africa.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Nourish Our Children: Preschool nutrition programme providing two daily meals to vulnerable children and their teachers
• Dignity Kitchen
• Community Kitchens
• Feed the Soil
• Realise A Dream

Products and services

• Nourish Our Children Programme Preschool nutrition programme providing two daily nutritious meals to vulnerable children (aged 2-6) and their teachers at early childhood development centres across Western Cape, Northern Cape and Gauteng.
• Dignity Kitchen Soup kitchen programme serving hot, healthy meals to destitute and displaced adults, operating four times weekly in Cape Town and weekly in Johannesburg.
• Feed the Soil Urban farming and food waste composting programme that diverts food waste from landfills, creates compost for local farmers, and channels fresh produce into preschools and pop-up markets.
• Mandela Day Events Annual flagship volunteer and fundraising event held at DHL Stadium Cape Town and Expo Centre Johannesburg, featuring hands-on activities including sandwich-making, crafting educational materials, and building grow boxes for preschools.
• Community Kitchens Sustainable community empowerment programme that awards vetted beneficiaries with fully-kitted kitchens, training manuals and ongoing bulk food supply support to enable them to prepare nutritious meals independently.
• Realise A Dream Community upliftment programme supporting individuals and families in impoverished communities to achieve their aspirations and improve their quality of life.
• Sandwich Drive Volunteer programme encouraging individuals and groups to make sandwiches at home for donation to those in need, supporting food relief efforts.
• Online Shop E-commerce platform selling Ladles of Love branded merchandise (Love Activist items), donation vouchers and programme sponsorship options, with all profits directed to ongoing programmes.
• Love Books Campaign Campaign providing preschool children with books to read alongside their daily nutritious meals, supporting early childhood literacy, with R250 monthly giving tier through the LOVE BOOKS channel.

Quantifiable outcome

• 13,500 children fed two nutritious meals daily through Nourish Our Children programme
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• DHLflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 17 July 2025Venue partner for Mandela Day 2026 at DHL Stadium Cape Town (17 July). National headline event partner with significant brand presence.
• Pesto PrincessflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term 'ubuntu partnership' with 'Buy 1 Give 1' soup programme. Pesto Princess sells soup and donates proceeds to fund hearty meals. Kathleen Quillinan from Pesto Princess has been a benefactor for years, providing bumper cheques annually to support preschools like Hope of Africa in Delft.
• Coronation Fund ManagersflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate Impact Circle partner pairing with Little Conquerors preschool in Joe Slovo. Committed to supporting early childhood nutrition and education as part of their CSI programme.
• Pick n PaycoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of Celebrity MasterChef South Africa series which featured Ladles of Love as beneficiary. R520,000 cheque presented by Chef Seth Shezi (MasterChef winner) at Pick n Pay sponsored event.
• UthandocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResponsible tourism and travelling philanthropy organisation that introduces visitors to community NPOs. Partners with Ladles of Love through community visits to preschools like Ulwazi Educare Centre in Delft.
• The Excellence GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partner that fitted out ECD kitchen for preparing nutritious meals. Employees volunteer at Dignity Kitchen, bringing teams for purpose-driven team building experiences.
• Hyve GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMining Indaba organisers who committed social investment to cover annual costs of feeding children and teachers at ECD centre built with Breadline in Barcelona, Gugulethu.
• Breadline AfricacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for ECD centre construction. Breadline built a preschool in Barcelona, Gugulethu, with Ladles of Love providing ongoing nutrition support.
• Pan African Women's OrganisationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVets work of community kitchen beneficiaries including how many meals they serve, collection of supplies, and available space for kitchens. Helps ensure sustainable community projects.
• Dialogue PRcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPR and communications agency that helped develop the 'Feed the Future' fundraising campaign concept through think-tank sessions. Assisted with strategy for reaching individual sponsors and corporate partners.
• UrbanFarmer.org.zaminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOnline store partner selling chemical-free and organic food with packaging sensitivity. Sells Ladles of Love 'Food Waste Kits' and offers complimentary compost collection service.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• FoodForward SA: South Africa's largest food redistribution NPO, moving surplus food to NPOs serving vulnerable communities. Directly comparable to Ladles of Love's Dignity Kitchen and Nourish Our Children models, and competes for the same corporate CSI and food donor ecosystem.
• Afrika Tikkun: Established SA NPO running ECD centres, nutrition programmes, and youth development across Gauteng, Western Cape and other provinces. Comparable beneficiary segments (ECD children), corporate partnership structure, and CSI funding model.
• FoodBank South Africa: Federated food bank network aggregating surplus food for redistribution to beneficiary organisations nationwide. Operates the same 'surplus food → beneficiary organisations' pipeline that underpins Ladles of Love's Nourish Our Children and Dignity Kitchens.
• Sparrow Schools: Gauteng-based NPO providing ECD and primary education to vulnerable children, including nutrition support. Operates in the same Johannesburg footprint as Ladles of Love's Gauteng region and targets the same ECD-aged beneficiary group.
• Peninsula School Feeding Association: Western Cape-based NPO providing daily meals to ECD and primary school learners in under-resourced schools. Closest geographic and programmatic peer to Ladles of Love's Nourish Our Children programme and a direct competitor for Western Cape CSI funding.
• The Lunchbox Fund: Provides nutritious meals to orphaned and vulnerable children at ECD centres and schools across South Africa. Same beneficiary profile (ECD-aged children, daily meals) as Ladles of Love and competes for the same child-sponsorship and corporate CSI budgets.
• Rise Against Hunger South Africa: Global meal-packaging NPO with a South African operation running large-scale volunteer packaging events — the same event-driven mass-volunteer model Ladles of Love uses for Mandela Day. Overlaps on corporate volunteer days, team-building, and meal-volume outputs.
• Breadline Africa: SA NPO building and upgrading ECD centres in under-served communities. A direct operational partner of Ladles of Love (built the Barcelona, Gugulethu ECD centre), making it a programmatic peer in ECD infrastructure and nutrition delivery.

Regional players

• The Domino Foundation: KwaZulu-Natal-based NPO delivering ECD, food relief and community upliftment. Not a direct same-geography competitor (Ladles of Love is Cape Town/Johannesburg) but operates a near-identical model: ECD nutrition, soup kitchens, and corporate CSI partnerships.

Broad incumbents

• ADRA South Africa: South African arm of the global ADRA humanitarian network, running a broad portfolio of food security, community development and disaster response programmes. Overlaps with Ladles of Love on community food services and emergency feeding but is a much larger, multi-programme operator.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/LadlesofLove
• Facebookfacebook.com/ladlesofloveZA
• Instagraminstagram.com/ladlesoflove
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ladles-of-love

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Ladles of Love