COTLANDS FINDS A FRIEND IN FOODCORP - WILL DONATE FREE PIEMAN'S PANTRY PIES FOR A WHOLE YEAR

Clearly, the charity has warmed hearts at Foodcorp, who have promised the free gift of 1300 deeply delicious Pieman's Pantry pies to Cotlands once every week for a whole year. Cotlands was founded in 1936 as a care centre for unwed mothers and their infants. It has evolved into a shelter for abused, abandoned, HIV positive, orphaned and terminally ill children from birth to fourteen years of age. Cotlands also has a paediatric AIDS hospice, the first of its kind in South Africa when it was created in 1996, offering specialised palliative care around the clock.

Cotlands serves communities in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and the Eastern and Western Cape, helping more than 2000 families. Cotlands care ranges from identifying at-risk children to end-stage care for children dying of AIDS.

Pieman’s Pantry’s Mike Breydenbach (back row far left), Lisa Roets (back row middle) and Debbie Biljon (back row far right) share a moment with Jade Freedman from Cotlands and some of the children that Pieman’s Pantry have helped. Children (L to R): Ntsika Magengenene, Bianca Matthews, Bronwyn Matthews, Erynn van Heerden, Daniella Malinga and in the back row, Hleginwe Malinga.

Cotlands' Allison Gallo, Corporate Portfolio Manager, says the gift of Pieman's Pies will make a real difference not just to the charity's finances but more importantly to the quality of life of its young wards.

'The day after we received the pies, the children absolutely enjoyed their meal .... In fact, most of the children asked for more, which doesn't happen often. For many of these children, this is the first time they have ever had a pie, and one with real meat, as we cannot afford to supply our children with such meals.

'This is a fantastic donation and we are truly grateful to Foodcorp for their ongoing contribution,’ comments Gallo.

Cotlands can take additional pleasure in the knowledge that Pieman's Pantry makes the country's best and most nutritious pies.

In fact, one of the many reasons for Pieman's Pantry's success over the past 25 years is that rather than add preservatives or monosodium glutamate to their products, the company invested, and continues to invest, in the development of superior recipes in which only fresh ingredients are used. Today, the company can claim even to have removed all unhealthy trans-fatty acids from the famous pastry on which their recipes depend.

Neil Waldeck, Marketing Director of Piemans Pantry, states that the Pieman’s Pantry factory now employs over 500 people in the production of 600 000 pies a day for customers around the country and overseas. The range of pies is wide, and Cotlands children can look forward to enjoying each deeply delicious variant.