IMPOVERISHED elderly folk will now have food on their tables at Christmas, thanks to food parcels handed out at a Christmas lunch.

The lunch, on 19 December at King William's Town War Memorial Hall, was a joint initiative between Buffalo City and the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa). It was held to contribute towards poverty alleviation among the municipality's most vulnerable citizens.

Speaking at the lunch, Executive Mayor Zintle Peter said that the food parcels were "a good gesture" that came from warm hearts. She said she would enjoy her leave all the more because through this function the City and its partner had touched many lives.

Sassa's executive manager in Eastern Cape Province, Bandile Maqethuka, said the lunch was part of a programme to provide Christmas presents for the elderly. It was also an opportunity for the municipality and Sassa to share a lunch with old citizens from the "impoverished families of Zwelitsha and surrounding villages".

Joseph Samente, a senior citizen from Zabalaza, a village outside Dimbaza, said he was encouraged by the initiative, which showed that the City and Sassa cared about the elderly. He added that the parcels of food would indeed make a difference to their lives.

"We encourage the mayor to continue in this direction every year. It means a lot to us and we are happy."

More than 500 senior citizens attended the lunch, and each one received a food parcel containing sugar, milk, biscuits, meat, mealie meal, samp, sweets and tinned food.