SPAR South Africa is turning the egg challenge – a global social media craze – on its head. While the original challenge requires participants to drink an egg with a scoop of sugar and then chase it down with alcohol or another beverage, the SPAR version encourages shoppers to donate daily essentials to those in need. By donating goods into a shopping cart placed outside every SPAR store, customers can help feed millions of South Africans who are going to bed hungry.

SPAR South Africa is encouraging customers to use the handle #SPARdonate and place a six-pack of eggs, 1 kilogram of maize, and 1 litre of milk into the donation carts located outside of SPAR stores. All donations will go to the most vulnerable communities in South Africa. Recognising that not all customers wish to be in stores at this time, donations can also be made online.

As of 6 May, SPAR customers have donated 76.054 eggs, 30.554 litres of milk, 38.227 kilograms of maize and flour, and 31.578 other products.

Beyond placing the designated shopping carts outside stores, SPAR South Africa will also give ZAR1 to the SPAR Lodestar Foundation feeding scheme for each time the handle #SPARdonate is used on social media channels.

Since the start of the national lockdown as a result of COVID-19, SPAR retailers in South Africa have gone the extra mile to offer support to their respective communities.

Ingane Yami, in the Shongweni Valley in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), is a permanent village for orphaned and vulnerable children. The nearest SUPERSPAR Supermarket fulfils the village’s weekly grocery needs, ensuring the residents can maintain a healthy diet.

Elsewhere, independent retailer Roy Sheodin donated ZAR20,000 (more than €1,000) to provide families in his community with healthy SPAR porridge meal.

To support charities across the country, SPAR South Africa in February ran a campaign with very local roots, called ‘Big Heart’. As part of the campaign, each SPAR Supermarket chose a local charity which customers could support with donations of food items.

Source: SPAR South Africa

About SPAR South Africa

SPAR South Africa was established in 1963 and operates four retail formats: SPAR, SPAR Express (operated in conjunction with Shell as a petrol forecourt store), KWIKSPAR (which focuses on convenience in city centres and high footfall locations) and SUPERSPAR (similar to EUROSPAR in offer).

South Africa was the first country outside of Europe to join the SPAR organisation. The SPAR Group Ltd South Africa grants sub-licences to independent retailers to operate stores under one of the four formats, with almost all of the current store portfolio being independently owned.