Ever-increasing food prices are a major concern for South African households, with prices escalating from 3.4% to 5.7% over the past few years.
Senior client service manager Tshililo Manenzhe from Ambani, an independent communications company, said increase is influenced by both national and international factors.
‘Domestic influences pushing up food prices include food production costs, mainly related to recent electricity tariff increases of more than 15%, and a minimum wage hike of over 16%,’ said Manenzhe.
‘International factors that influence it are crude oil, which ultimately increases food production.’
Tiger Brands Foundation (TBF) operations manager Karl Muller said the rise in food prices places in poverty those families already living in poor conditions.
‘Regulated prices of resources such as fuel and electricity are going to have an impact on food pricing as inflation moves upwards,’ said Muller.
‘Unfortunately, this has the undesirable effect of pushing the vulnerable further into poverty and malnutrition.’
He said that, in South Africa, 55.5% (30.3 million people) of the population lives in poverty at the national upper poverty line of R992 per month, while 25% of the population (13.8 million) are experiencing food poverty.
To curb the hunger wave, TBF runs an in-school nutrition programme feeding children, serving its 100 millionth in-school meal in December.
‘One of the biggest drivers behind the establishment of the TBF was to offer support to underprivileged communities that struggle with perpetual poverty,’ he said.
‘The foundation aims to make a noticeable socio-economic impact in these communities by ensuring learners have access to good nutrition.’
TBF is also creating food gardens at schools, while empowering teachers, pupils and parents with skills to start their own gardens for food security.
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