In an attempt to root out corruption in the food aid industry in South Africa, SA Harvest on Monday announced a groundbreaking smart vetting system to ensure food aid reaches legitimate, active community-based organisations (CBOs) around the country.

In the form of an App, it was developed in partnership with Garnish Global.

The tech-enabled system brings real-time tracking, digital verification, and fraud detection into the informal food economy.

SA Harvest supports over 300 beneficiary organisations in Johannesburg, Durban, and Cape Town.

The organisation said that this new system sets a precedent for transparency and impact in food relief efforts, positioning SA Harvest as a key driver of systematic change.

COO of SA Harvest, Ozzy Nel, said, “Food is our starting point, our currency, but our real work is about enabling systematic change. This vetting system gives us visibility into the lives, challenges and strengths of our CBO partners. We’re building trust, collecting data and becoming a conduit for others to invest meaningfully in community development.”

SA Harvest said it aims to address the perceived fragmentation of South Africa’s informal food economy, where many feeding schemes operate without official documentation, registration or safety oversight.

The new vetting system introduces structure without exclusion, allowing CBOs to remain accessible while ensuring traceability, transparency and impact.

The vetting system includes features such as real-time beneficiary tracking to confirm legitimacy and activity, digital receipts and geo-tagging to verify food deliveries. Automated fraud detection to flag inconsistencies and low-data usability to accommodate CBOs with limited internet access.

CBOs submit information via an app, including photos, operational data and food safety indicators and SA Harvest teams conduct on-the-ground verification to ensure accuracy.

Lauren Henderson, founder of Garnish Global, said, “We’re not just gathering data, we are collecting evidence of need, capacity and opportunity. For example, if a beneficiary claims they have a kitchen, they must show proof through a picture. This technology-driven approach allows us to gather information more efficiently and use it to secure more food for those in need."

By formalising food distribution and integrating real-time monitoring, SA Harvest stated that it is strengthening accountability within an unstructured system, reducing inefficiencies, and enhancing the overall effectiveness of food relief efforts.

The food organisation said that the app is only the first layer.

SA Harvest’s local teams verify each organisation through partnerships with community leaders, NGOs and regional networks. Regular monitoring ensures that beneficiaries remain active and compliant and the data enables SA Harvest to report on much more than food.

“We now know where the gaps are. Not just in meals, but in education, infrastructure, clothing and nutrition. The data shows us where communities are under pressure, and where there’s potential for others to plug in and help lift the entire ecosystem,” Nel further added.

One standout story emerged to illustrate the power of the collective: Tehillah Community Collaborative, a CBO in the SA Harvest network, was flagged as a high-impact organisation with limited resources.

After logging their urgent need for beds, SA Harvest connected them to a partner in the logistics and furniture sectors, resulting in the delivery of essential beds within days.

“That is what we mean by being a conduit. We don’t have to solve everything ourselves - we just need the right information and the right relationships,” Nel said.

The beneficiary vetting system is being rolled out in three phases:

Phase 1 (March 2025) – Beneficiary vetting
Phase 2 (April–May 2025) – Community-level data collection, conducted quarterly
Phase 3 (Q3 2025) – Education and training for beneficiaries, aligned with WHO food safety standards
Phase 4 (Q4 2025) - Education and training to create sustainable change for the communities including agriculture to learn how to grow fruit and vegetables within the community.

A national rollout is planned across all SA Harvest operations, ensuring broad adoption of this structured vetting system.

Henderson said, “We’re executing phase one now, vetting beneficiaries. Phase two, which focuses on data collection within communities, is set to begin in April or May. By the third quarter, we will introduce an educational component, starting with WHO food safety training for all beneficiaries."

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