Abundance Wholesome Foods

30/01/2025

Although I’m closing this chapter, my love for organic food, local farmers, local food system, sustainability, and community remains as strong as ever.

For those of you who are still looking to incorporate fresh, organic produce into your lives, I want to ensure you have options to continue your journey toward healthy, sustainable eating. Below are a few wonderful stores and farms I recommend where you can continue supporting local farmers and the organic movement:

Stores & Farms for Organic Produce:
1. African Marmalade – situated in Laezonia, this farm welcomes visitors and educational tours. They specialize on indigenous crops, grains, legumes and beans – with their wide network of farmers they will find most items grown locally.
2. Aloe Dale Farm – this farm in Midrand supplies some of Joburg’s organic retailers, and they have a local box scheme delivery in Midrand.
3. Farm Table – a retailer in the Linden area, they have a variety of products including meat and dairy. Check them online and social media for contact details.
4. Ganico Organic Estate – this family run farm just outside Joburg, is a food forest and an organic orchard.
5. Heirloom Foods – this Benoni farm also supplies organic retailers around Joburg, and they have a walk in store for customers.
6. Jackson’s real food market – in addition to the food store, Jackson’s have an eatery and two branches in Brynston (Riverclub) and Kyalami.
7. Siyakhana Food Garden – based in Observatory they specialize in seasonal, locally grown produce, with a focus on community and sustainable farming practises.
8. Straight From The Ground – this is a Craighall based box scheme, you can collect your boxes from them on Saturdays, they do delivery by arrangement.
9. The Landing – in Dunvegan (15 Linksfield Road) they have been our collection point for years, we will still have a table on Saturdays with fresh produce for customers in the area.
10. Yeast bakery – sister to The Landing, this is a new store in Bedfordview that has fresh bakes, our organic produce, dairy products, eggs and many more items. They are the champions of small-scale farmers and businesses.

30/01/2025

Although I’m closing this chapter, my love for organic food, local farmers, local food system, sustainability, and community remains as strong as ever.

For those of you who are still looking to incorporate fresh, organic produce into your lives, I want to ensure you have options to continue your journey toward healthy, sustainable eating. Below are a few wonderful stores and farms I recommend where you can continue supporting local farmers and the organic movement:

Stores & Farms for Organic Produce:
1. African Marmalade – situated in Laezonia, this farm welcomes visitors and educational tours. They specialize on indigenous crops, grains, legumes and beans – with their wide network of farmers they will find most items grown locally.
2. Aloe Dale Farm – this farm in Midrand supplies some of Joburg’s organic retailers, and they have a local box scheme delivery in Midrand.
3. Farm Table – a retailer in the Linden area, they have a variety of products including meat and dairy. Check them online and social media for contact details.
4. Ganico Organic Estate – this family run farm just outside Joburg, is a food forest and an organic orchard.
5. Heirloom Foods – this Benoni farm also supplies organic retailers around Joburg, and they have a walk in store for customers.
6. Jackson’s real food market – in addition to the food store, Jackson’s have an eatery and two branches in Brynston (Riverclub) and Kyalami.
7. Siyakhana Food Garden – based in Observatory they specialize in seasonal, locally grown produce, with a focus on community and sustainable farming practises.
8. Straight From The Ground – this is a Craighall based box scheme, you can collect your boxes from them on Saturdays, they do delivery by arrangement.
9. The Landing – in Dunvegan (15 Linksfield Road) they have been our collection point for years, we will still have a table on Saturdays with fresh produce for customers in the area.
10. Yeast bakery – sister to The Landing, this is a new store in Bedfordview that has fresh bakes, our organic produce, dairy products, eggs and many more items. They are the champions of small-scale farmers and businesses.

I truly hope you find these resources helpful as you continue to explore the world of organic food. There are other local food stores and farms, however the ones I recommend I know and trust as they have been audited for organic status by the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS SA). – support them and get to know them. I will miss serving you and being part of this incredible community, but I am excited for the new opportunities ahead.

Thank you once again for your incredible support. I’ll carry with me the lessons learned and the connections made. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need recommendations or just want to say hello.

23/01/2025

Dear friends,

Today, I’m writing to share an important update about our organic fresh produce delivery service. After much thought and reflection, I’ve made the difficult decision to take an indefinite break from operations. Next week Friday, the 31st January will be our last day of service.

I want to take this opportunity to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your support, trust, and shared passion for fresh, organic produce and sustainable living have been the backbone of this venture. Serving you has been a privilege, and I will always treasure the connections and shared moments of this journey.
While I don’t know when I will return to this path, I remain committed to keeping you updated on any future endeavours. For now, I am stepping back to lay a stronger foundation for what’s to come.

Thank you for your understanding, kindness, and patience over the years. If you have any questions or simply want to stay in touch, please feel free to reach out to me.

Wishing you abundance in health and joy.

Yours in health,
Siyabonga

15/01/2025

A Shared Responsibility

As the rains fall this season, let us view them as a call to action. The climate crisis demands that we rethink how we interact with natural resources, shifting towards sustainable practices that protect the environment for future generations. For organic farmers, sustainability advocates, and conscious consumers, this is an opportunity to lead by example, demonstrating that resilience and stewardship go hand in hand.

Rain is a reminder of nature’s power and generosity. By adopting sustainable practices, we can ensure that the benefits of rainfall are maximized, and the challenges it poses are minimized, e.g. harvesting rainwater, planting indigenous crops. Let us work together to create a future where South Africa thrives in harmony with its natural environment, regardless of the changing climate.

14/01/2025

Our friends at Yeast_bakery have a new location in Bedfordview, visit them, show some love and be amazed 💚 and do try their sourdough bread!

📍Bedfordview 🍪🍪🏵

08/01/2025

Happy New Year from all of us at Abundance! 🎉

As we step into 2025, we’re filled with gratitude for the gift of life, our organic farmers, your continued support and passion for organic living. Last year, we were inspired by your commitment to fresh, sustainable choices, and we look forward to growing together in the year ahead.
Our operations are officially open, and we can’t wait to serve you. Let’s make 2025 a year of thriving connections—with self, each other, our communities, and the earth.

17/12/2024

As the festive season approaches, we’d like to take a moment to thank you for your continued support and commitment to living more sustainably. Your choice to shop organic not only nurtures your health and wellbeing but also supports local farmers and protects our planet for future generations. Together, we are fostering a healthier, intentional and more vibrant community.

Wishing you and your family a joyful, peaceful festive season and a prosperous New Year! We’re excited to continue this journey with you in 2025.

04/12/2024

To give our team and partners a well-deserved rest, we’ll be taking a holiday break from the 13th of December to the 10th of January 2025. During this time, we encourage you to enjoy the goodness of the season with your loved ones, savoring every bite of fresh, wholesome food.

Our last delivery before the break will be on the 13th, so be sure to place your orders by the 12th of December. We’ll be back and ready to serve you with fresh, organic produce. Our produce table at the Landing (15 Linksfield Road) will continue operating throughout the December period.
If you are close by or want to venture out that way, do visit us – we are there on Friday afternoons 13h00 to 16h00 and Saturdays from 08h00 to 13h30.

27/11/2024

Buy What You Truly Need

Reflect on your purchases before Black Friday begins. Make a list of items you genuinely need and stick to it, avoiding impulse buys.
The global nature of Black Friday has amplified its environmental costs: increased production, shipping emissions, and waste disposal all contribute to environmental harm. In South Africa, the waste crisis is particularly acute, with over 90% of waste ending up in landfills and 10% recycled in 2011 according to Stats SA. Conscious Black Friday shopping can help reduce this impact by supporting a circular economy and choosing ethical alternatives over fast consumption.

20/11/2024

In the recent years there has been growing voices highlighting the failure of the COP process, how it has been captured by corporates, the slow pace caused by the required unanimous decisions, non-binding agreements, the fact that there is no mechanism to penalise countries that aren’t fully cooperating among others.

Currently, there is no alternative and I believe we shouldn’t take our eyes off the COP process since it is still the largest climate conference and decisions are being made on our behalf. And that is the reason I have kept an eye on, especially since South Africa is a participant. We also know that the global South is the least contributor to the climate crisis but the worst hit by the negative impacts.

South Africa is actively participating in COP29 with a focus on several key objectives aligned with its national and regional priorities. The country emphasizes the need for increased climate finance to support adaptation, mitigation, and a just transition. South Africa is advocating for grant-based and concessional funding rather than loans, to avoid exacerbating existing debt challenges. The financial support is critical for implementing our Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and addressing socio-economic vulnerabilities, including energy security and climate resilience.

14/11/2024

Five years ago, the Women on Farms Project (WFP) launched a Double Standards Pesticides Campaign, demanding that the government ban 67 Highly Hazardous Pesticides used in commercial agriculture.

Five years on from the start of WFP’s campaign, pesticide regulation has come under scrutiny due to incidents highlighting potential health risks, like the tragic poisoning cases linked to contaminated snacks in the townships.

Where will we be in another five years? Both the WFP’s campaign and the recent incidents in the townships are not so far removed from each other and from us. Most households in the country still depend on supermarkets for food supplies, and large commercial farms supply the supermarkets. These same pesticides get washed away and end up downstream in our waterways, while others end up in the produce we consume on a daily basis.

Support Women on Farms Project and UnpoisonSouthAfrica

06/11/2024

Companies may use terms like "eco-friendly," "natural," or "sustainable" without clear definitions or certification, leading customers to believe products are green when they’re not. What is also common with “healthy brands”, they promote one small eco-friendly feature while ignoring the overall environmental impact. For instance, a company may focus on recyclable packaging but disregard pollutive production processes, i.e. growing conditions in the country of origin, the kilometers travelled to get to South Africa, and the overprocessing once it has reached here.

“False solutions are created by corporations to ‘solve’ the problems they have created. Despite evidence that the agribusiness system is unsustainable, these ‘solutions” maintain the viability of the agribusiness model under the pretense that it can be reformed by agribusinesses corporations themselves”. FoEI

Know where your food comes from, who grew it and how 💚