More than 85% of the income-earning residents who live in the Eastern Cape’s poorest municipalities Alfred Nzo, King Sabatha Dalindyebo and Joe Gqabi earn less than R1,600 per month. In South Africa, according to the Household Affordability Index, the average food basket consisting of 43 basic foods costs R4,051.20.
“Ensuring access to food is now more important than ever,” says Andy Du Plessis, the managing director of FoodForward SA (FFSA). “Covid-19 has drastically impacted unemployment and people’s ability to earn money for food.” Last year, almost half (46%) of adult South Africans surveyed by Ipsos, on behalf of the Centre for Social Development in Africa, said their households often had to go hungry during the Covid-19 pandemic as they
did not have enough money for food.The same study found that 56% of the Eastern Cape’s population experienced hunger during the same period (19 November 2020 to 30 December 2020).
According to Statistics South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey, more than half of all people of working age in the Eastern Cape were unemployed during the fourth quarter of 2020.Around 880,000 people living in the Eastern Cape (South Africa’s poorest province) live in poverty.This is one of the findings of the Community Survey that Statistics South Africa conducted.
Many families, especially those living in underserved rural areas in South Africa, are feeling the burden of rising food prices. According to the Household Affordability Index, in January 2021, families from Springbok in the Northern Cape paid R4,343.40 for the same food basket which includes, among others, items like maize meal, rice, cake flour, white sugar, samp, cooking oil, potatoes, onions and bread. In Cape Town, families paid R3,957.19.
“We need government to create an enabling environment for inclusive growth, especially for rural communities. But allegations of mismanagement of funds, like those made against an Eastern Cape ward councillor earlier this year, do not inspire confidence,” says Andy Du Plessis.
Residents of the Buffalo City Metro, who had gone without water supply for more than five days, accused their ward councillor of giving food parcels and jobs to friends. “A decline in business confidence will only result in more companies following a cautious approach to investing in communities,” says Du Plessis. “Businesses are a key driver of economic growth and also an important contributor to socio-economic development programmes run by non-profits.”
According to the National Development Agency (NDA), “in Kwa-Zulu Natal and the Eastern Cape, poverty is not so much a problem of absence of economic opportunities but rather lack of investment in the poor to access opportunities.” Here, “the priority should be investment in the skills of, and access to opportunities by the poor.”
During their 2020/2021 financial year, FoodForward SA reached more than 475,000 people daily through their network of just over 1,000 BOs throughout South Africa. They distributed almost 1,300 tons of food (5,2 million meals) to their 128 beneficiary organisations (BOs) in the Eastern Cape, via their warehouse in Gqeberha and Mobile Rural Depot (MRD) programme. The organisations they distribute to offer, among others, important skills
development programmes.
“Thanks to a donation by Engen which covers our fuel costs, our refrigerated trucks deliver food each month to a central point in a rural community, where our BOs (beneficiary organisations) in the area can collect their food provisions. This helps many of our BOs save on transport costs. Without Engen’s support this would not be possible,” says Du Plessis.
FoodForward SA’s MRD (Mobile Rural Depot) programme in the Eastern Cape currently supports 35 beneficiary organisations with nutritious monthly food provisions. This helps them feed around 12,000 vulnerable people from Komani, Mthatha and East London, daily.The MRD in Mthatha was launched on 18 March 2021.
According to statistics released by the South African Police Service, from October to December 2020, the province showed the fourth highest number of cases relating to robberies and burglaries at residential premises, as well as burglaries at non-residential premises and shoplifting.It showed the third highest number of cases relating to truck hijacking and the second highest relating to stock theft.
FoodForward SA operates 14 MRDs across South Africa, reaching over 65,000 beneficiaries, and aims to increase this rapidly during the course of the year. The need for food in rural communities is increasing steadily.“In a country that produces enough food for all its people, wasting a third or approximately 10 million tons of food per year is unacceptable. In South Africa, 75% of food loss occurs before food is processed and packaged,” says Du Plessis.
To respond to increasing community needs and food insecurity, particularly in vulnerable rural communities, FoodForward SA aims to distribute a total of 12,000 tons of food (48 million meals) this financial year to 700,000 beneficiaries daily. However, they rely on partnerships with supply chain role players to make this happen.Companies that wish to donate can contact info@foodforwardsa.org to help.
