New research paints a stark picture of hunger and hardship across South Africa prompted by rising food prices, high unemployment, and stagnant wages.
FoodForward SA (FFSA), the country’s leading non-profit fighting hunger and food waste – in partnership with the University of Cape Town’s Southern Africa Labour & Development Research Unit (SALDRU) – conducted an 18-month national study to quantify the depth and extent of household food insecurity in South Africa.
The findings will guide FFSA’s national food security strategies over the next three years.
“Rising food prices, high unemployment, and stagnant incomes have left countless households unable to afford adequate nutrition, pushing many into severe hardship and even starvation,” says FoodForward SA MD, Andy du Plessis. “Across South Africa, food insecurity is placing unbearable pressure on families, eroding wellbeing and deepening social and economic inequalities.”
Around the country, around 16-million people have inadequate or severely inadequate access to food.
A crisis in numbers
Key findings from the study include:
- Eastern Cape is the epicentre of the household food insecurity crisis, with 12,35% of households facing severe food insecurity — triple the rate in the Western Cape.
- Female-led and youth-headed households face the highest severity and volatility in household food insecurity with one in 10 female-headed households being severely food insecure, double the rate of male-headed households.
- Food insecurity spiked in 2023 and remains elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels.
- Households with children, and those with unstable or informal work face the most acute and unstable conditions.
- Hotspots are clustered in the Eastern Cape, Limpopo, North-West, and low-income urban settlements.
The study also identified employment shocks and food price increases as the strongest predictors of transitions into severe food insecurity. While cash transfers helped, they did not fully offset the impact of rapid price rises.
The research team found that as household situations become more desperate, coping strategies escalate. From portion cuts and meal stretching to meal skipping, borrowing, selling assets, even foregoing crucial medication.
Food donations and community kitchens provide some relief, but are often constrained by timing, quantity, and access costs.
“This study provides the most comprehensive picture yet of household food insecurity in South Africa,” says Du Plessis. “By identifying where and why families are struggling, we hope to inform smarter policies and more effective support systems that can make a real difference in people’s lives.”
The findings reinforce the urgent need for collective, systems-based interventions to ensure food security and protect vulnerable communities.
FFSA’s core focus remains the recovery of edible surplus food to reduce waste and address hunger – providing food to nearly 1-million people daily through a network of 2 500 beneficiary organisations.
“Hunger in South Africa is a silent, daily reality for millions,” adds Du Plessis. “It may not always resemble famine, but it is devastating, manifesting behind closed doors in ways that threaten health, dignity, and hope.”