No one should be hungry, says Heidi van Pinxteren-van Lokven from Nistelrode. That is why she shares her initiative ‘Food left?’ distributes food parcels twice a week to families who can hardly make ends meet. She started with five families to support, but now seventy families have turned to Heidi for help. That is why she has been nominated for the title Brabander of the Year.
View all nominees and vote on our special voting page.
People enter Heidi’s garage with an empty shopping bag. And they leave with a bag filled with bread, fruit, meat and fresh vegetables. Why she does it? “To help people,” Heidi explains as she packs the bags. “I want everyone to have enough to eat. And that people who have little to spend have some money left in their wallets, so that they can do something fun for once. Even if it is just getting an ice cream for the grandchildren.”
Heidi started handing out food ten years ago. She wasn’t well off at the time either. “I was allowed to buy bread from someone in Oss. I was happy with that. But I also realized that I was lucky that I had a car to drive to Oss. Many people cannot just do that. And I wanted to help those people and that is why I started my own distribution point.”
In the hallway to the garage, people stand in a long line patiently waiting for their groceries: “Young families, quite a lot of Ukrainians, grandparents and working couples who just don’t have enough at the bottom.”
Heidi especially feels sorry for the elderly. “If those people don’t have a pension, they can’t make ends meet. I really struggle with that. I’m glad we can help them.”
“This gives me some extra money for my family.”
Heidi receives the food and care products she distributes from the local greengrocer, bakery and supermarket. Many products are close to their expiration date and this also prevents waste. She now runs two distribution points with a team of volunteers. One in Heesch and one from her own garage in Nistelrode. Because more and more people are turning to us for help.
Jeroen van den Broek is one of them. He gratefully shows what he has received. “I have yogurt, vegetables, fruit and a little meat. I am very happy that these people do this for us every week.” Tamara van Heemst also fills a shopping bag: “I am a single mother on benefits and am always short. But thanks to them I have some extra money left over for my family. I am very grateful for that.”
After an hour of handing out, all bags are filled again. And that’s what Heidi does it for. “When everything has been distributed and people go home with a full bag, then I think: yes! We’ve done it again.”
Winner announcement
On Christmas Day you will see who can call himself the Brabander of the Year 2025 in a special TV broadcast and online at Omroep Brabant.