Hunger crisis — rights group calls for state action as 23% of South Africans struggle to access food

Daily Maverick

3 days ago

The Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa has launched a report that unpacks the cause of South Africa's food poverty crisis and looks at legal frameworks to strengthen food security. 'People are not ignorant about nutrition, rather they are unable to access nutritious food and/or have to make strategic trade-offs,' it reads.
Civil society organisations are calling for amendments to the updated National Food and Nutrition Security Plan to address and monitor affordability and food pricing and give people economic access to nutritious food.
This is one of the recommendations in a new report by the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (Seri). The report, launched on Tuesday at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg, spotlights the struggles and the remedies people seek to put nutritious food on the table.
The report is titled Food for Thought: Reflections on Food (In)Security. Laws, Experiences, Interventions.
In the lead-up to its publication, Seri embarked on a #FoodJusticeWeek, during which it shared the experiences and coping strategies of partner organisations to highlight the impacts of food insecurity on the back of World Hunger Day.
'Seri stands in solidarity with communities around the country who experience hunger and food insecurity daily. Despite South Africa having the means to feed its population, millions still struggle to access sufficient and nutritious food,' the organisation said.
The report notes official statistics that paint a bleak picture. According to Statistics South Africa's General Household Survey published in 2023, 23.1% of households nationally – more than one in five – report inadequate or severely inadequate access to food. A 2023 study commissioned by the then Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development and conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council found that half of all adults in South Africa are considered overweight or obese, while 69% of adults who are obese live in households that are food insecure and therefore have little choice in the food they eat and its nutritional value.
'The triple burden of malnutrition exists in the country, which happens when undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and overnutrition exist simultaneously in society. Despite this, it is estimated that 10 million tonnes of food are wasted annually in South Africa, which constitutes about one-third of all available food. A disconnect exists between available food and those who struggle to access their next meal. Like the rest of the world, South Africa faces critical questions about how to produce food in a just and sustainable manner. Food wastage is not only a social and humanitarian concern, but also an environmental one,' the report reads.
The report recommends the drafting of national framework legislation, such as a 'Food and Nutrition Security Act', which will be in line with recommendations from United Nations General Comment No 12 on the Right to Adequate Food.
The report also highlights instances where the law has been used to compel the government to act on the right to food, including:
Ensuring pupils received meals through the National School Nutrition Programme during Covid-19 lockdowns;
Challenging barriers to access for the Social Relief of Distress Grant, linking to the right to social protection and food security; and
Upholding the rights of artisanal fishers to access marine resources.
The report also asserts that South Africa's National Policy on Food and Nutrition Security could help set out the roles and responsibilities of the different actors in relation to food security in South Africa, including an interdepartmental body with oversight responsibility.
Other recommendations include:
Implementation of a universal basic income grant;
The Department of Employment and Labour to monitor the implementation of the national minimum wage and develop effective enforcement mechanisms;
Civil society organisations and organisations and unions representing those in precarious work to keep advocating for a living wage; and
The Department of Employment and Labour to monitor the working conditions of those in precarious work, such as domestic workers and farm workers.
The research included case studies and anecdotes, including from a participant in a meeting in Slovo Park, who said: 'This hunger thing, it's changing our personality and it's changing our humanity. We have become like animals among each other. In order for me to have something in my stomach I have to do anything so that I don't go hungry.' DM