Durban - The recent Statistics South Africa Community Service findings state that 2.2 million South African households had skipped a meal in the past 12 months. But the Pietermaritzburg Agency for Community Social Action (Pacsa) - which monitors food prices and trends - said this number might not represent the scale of the crisis.
“Considering our population size, 2.2 million out of that is nothing,” said Julie Smith, the agency’s research and advocacy co-ordinator, adding that 21.7% of South Africans were “below the food poverty line”.
The figure, they said, should throw light on the “abnormal economic structure” that sees underpaid black South Africans forced to take on debt to cover food shortfalls, and whose children risk “scary” health implications when they fail to get adequate nutrition.
Black South Africans, the agency's latest Food Price Barometer report said, were paid the lowest wage levels, and were responsible for supporting the highest number of people on their wages.
The agency, which monitors a selection of food identified as needed to make up a nutritionally complete diet, wrote that a worker earning the average minimum wage - of just over R 2 300 - could not secure basic nutrition for a family of four.
They conservatively estimate that 89% of black South African households rely on the earnings of just one family member. Moreover, black South Africans, on average, support nearly 3.8 people per family with average earnings of R 2 800, versus the average white family, which supports 2.3 people with average earnings of R10 000.
“It’s always coming back to the racial issue in the labour market,” Smith said. “Economy is not supporting households.”
Smith said black families had resorted to taking on debt to cover food shortfalls, but went to informal lenders like spaza shops to buy on credit.
“Food is a recurring expense, every month there’s less money because servicing debt is very high.”
The situation was also detrimental to children’s health, which could hamper future labour forces: “The scary thing is we risk stunted growth levels becoming extremely high, and that will play out in 20 years’ time.”
Child grants of R350 a month are not sufficient to meet Pacsa's minimum nutritionally complete diet for children aged 3 to 9, which is R556.
The situation is part of an ongoing food security struggle the country faces.
The Mercury reported last month that food aid NGOs were feeling the strain of the hungry, having to take on tens of thousands of new beneficiaries. It was also reported that hiked food prices and the ongoing drought in the province had compounded the problem, with suppliers battling to meet the NGOs’ demands.
The Mercury