For instance, after the Black Saturday fires in Australia, neighbourhood networks were crucial in alleviating suffering because the aid from the government and other large organisations was slow in coming and often inappropriate for local needs.

For example, Christine Fyvie has been working with the NGO Boost Africa for many years in one of Cape Town's most vulnerable communities, Dunoon.

Our third example is the remarkable emergence of Community Action Networks (CANs) in diverse neighbourhoods in Cape Town (and now also elsewhere in the country).

There are over 2,000 volunteers registered in about 150 such Community Action Networks in the Cape Town metropole, and there are about 20 pairings between CANs.

The examples above show the importance of the local knowledge and relationships, the innovation, and the local responsiveness that solidarity networks can bring to addressing the COVID-19 hunger crisis.