Brief description of the proposed program

The Joy of Soy Plant-Based Nutrition Outreach and Training Program is a program that focuses on soyfoods assimilated vegan cooking and educating the public on the benefits of soy-protein rich plant-based foods and how they can contribute to improved health and wellbeing. The program will target identified community stakeholders that would benefit the most from such information and this includes schools, clinics, local resorts and hospitality service providers, etc in the Bela-Bela town and Makapanstad vicinity. The program aims to:

The program will visit the identified stakeholders such as schools, local clinics, resorts, and the like. The program will also extend its training and demonstrations online for sustained interaction with program participants and interested parties who do not have direct access to live program events. Participants will be able to revise and extend their knowledge at home at the leisure of their own time.

Background

MOST South Africans indulge in food containing too much sugar and carbohydrates, and not enough protein, leading to many either being overweight or underweight. This is according to a study funded by the Centre of Excellence in Food Security which found many South Africans consume high-energy but nutrient-poor foods. Long-term effects of this type of eating habit may result in protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) which refers to a condition characterized by an increased susceptibility to infection that results from long-term consumption of insufficient energy and protein to meet needs, often aggravated by repeated infections.

With the ever-rising costs of meat, most people in South Africa are looking for healthier more reasonable alternatives which can offer them sufficient protein and additionally great tasting nutritious alternative. The soybean has proven itself to be a perfect commodity in providing all the mentioned requirements.

Soy-based products are becoming viable alternatives in South Africa but quality and tasty alternatives are often pricy and mostly be found in exclusive supermarkets which only cater to upper and middle-class segments of the population. The neglected lower class is often left to find cheaper alternatives which consist mostly of poor quality products that usually don’t taste good. To address the mentioned challenges, it was envisioned and proposed that an outreach and training Programme titled The Joy of Soy be developed and implemented as a means to educate targeted stakeholders but also increase awareness to a larger segment of the population about the benefits of soy-based meat and dairy alternatives. Most importantly the program at hand wishes to address misconceptions about soy-based products which have been gaining rounds on different media platforms by creating relative educational materials and social media campaigns aimed at exposing the public to correct information about soy.

Motivation

The soybean is revered as the plant of renowned which has an impressive array of nutritional attributes including high protein content which has made it a viable alternative in meeting up the daily nutritional demands of people worldwide. Soybeans are packed with nutrients and minerals that are important for a healthy lifestyle.

The legume has proven to be even more popular in recent years as a growing number of the vegetarian and vegan movement appreciate the different ways in which the bean can be transformed into various meat and dairy analogs providing a healthy protein alternative. Additionally, the soybean has been identified as a viable source of interest in alleviating food security concerns in poor communities failing to meet their daily nutritional needs.

Over the past year, the world was brought to its knees by the advent of the COVID 19 pandemic where many were subjected to its negative impact directly and indirectly. As a means to mitigate its effects, various measures were put in place to mitigate its spread. Whilst some of the recommended interventions were general, a healthy dietary prescription was found to be one of the best ways in supporting the body to fight the disease. As such various institutions of health drafted a guide that was meant to serve as a guiding tool in assisting those affected by the disease. Since one of the recommended dietary requirements include protein, the soybean can serve as one the foodstuff used in supporting people affected by it.

Action plan

The program aims to use a logic model to illustrate a roadmap that will serve as a guide to assess and monitor progress made during the program. A logic model is a graphic depiction (road map) that presents the shared relationships among the resources, activities, outputs, outcomes, and impact for your program. It depicts the relationship between your program's activities and their intended effects.

RESOURCES	ACTIVITIES		OUTCOMES
Program coordinator Program budget Time Volunteers Equipment Technology Transport	What we do	Who we reach	Learning Awareness Skills development
	Develop recipes, samples products, and curriculum Conduct cooking lessons Facilitate access to information Develop media campaigns through websites, educational videos, etc.	Agencies and community-based organizations Potential customers Decision-makers Schools Health centers

Project duration in months

Please list the project timeline with timeline goals

Timeline Goal	Weeks	Times Per Week	Target Participants
Youth finding joy in Soy	4	2	30-40
Health Workers finding joy in Soy	4	1	30-40
Hospitality Industry finding joy in Soy	4	1	30-40

Project Line Item Budget in USD & ZAR

Line Item	ZAR	USD
Cooking utensils, Platers for food presentation, Plates, Gas stove, tables, chairs	R20,000	$1,320.00
Demonstrators/Cooks (R10,000pm x3)	R30,000	$1,980.00
Programme Venue (R4,000 pm x3)	R12,000	$792.00
Presentation equipment, Video Recording and sound system	R30,000	$1,980.00
Program Material Printing and Website	R10,000	$660.00
Ingredients	R15,000	$990.00
Running Costs (Fuel and communication) (R3000pm x3)	R9,000	$594.00
Small Generator and Gas	R5,000	$330.00
Stipends for Volunteers (R1500pm x3)	R4,500	$297.00
Total Budget	R135,500	$8,943.00
GoGetFunding Withdrawal Fees		$857.00
Grand Total		$9,800.00

Program outcomes

The primary goal of the program is to grow the demand for soy food products in our locality. This program aims to be the inception establishing a hub for the promotion and empirical data of soy foods consumption within the immediate and surrounding regions and expanding as we build up capacity. The program will achieve this by using the following approaches:

• Experiential participation where attendants get to see, prepare and taste great tasting soy foods.
• Conducting participant surveys and interviews of questions indicating the likelihood of attendants to purchase and incorporate soy food into their lifestyle
• Provide information on health benefits and preparation of soy foods
• Encourage foodservice businesses to incorporate more soy food into their menus.
• Ultimately the program’s objective is to contribute positively to community health and the implicit positive environmental benefits that are tied to broadening compassion on our planet and all who live in it.

Long-Term Objectives tied to the program

If this Joy of Soy were to be successful this program would serve as the appropriate precursor for the establishment of a state of the art Joy of Soy Foods Community Kitchen, the role of the Catering kitchen is to provide freshly produced soy foods such as tofu, tempeh, and soymilk, etc. to the local community at affordable prices and also donating or participating these nutritious foods to the elderly and school nutrition programs.

The Kitchen will also serve as a site to continue the educational and training work of the program not just in the immediate locality but can serve as the model where we invite different community stakeholders around South Africa and Africa to participate in the different training programs. This will allow for sustained access to good quality nutritious soy foods. This initiative will serve to expand the protection of human health and increase access to good quality protein.