Blog

“The immediate impact of the public health crisis has revealed the deep fragility of the South African food system and exposed the injustices that underpin it. This has clearly been a disruption, presenting a period of deep uncertainty and change, creating an opportunity for a...

Civil society groups have played an important role in responding to the COVID-19 social crisis in South Africa. Examples include the “community action networks” in Cape Town and Gauteng, as well as similar initiatives in more rural areas, such as the Eastern Cape. They also include extraordinary crisis response efforts by...

The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated both the unsustainability and the fragility of our current food system, across multiple scales. COVID-19 has proven to be the litmus test for the current industrialized food system, one that has, in certain circles, been championed as being the only...

“Understanding the complex and dynamic interrelationships between water, energy and food will enable cities to manage resources sustainably.” – Sandra Boatemaa, Centre for Complex Systems in Transition (Stellenbosch University). Systems-thinking means shifting narratives to include experiences that are otherwise overlooked. A circular approach accounts for the...

By Luke Metelerkamp, Taryn Pereira, Heila Lotz-Sisitka, Monde Duma, Monde Ntshudu, Lwande Maqwelane and Lawrence Sisitka As Covid-19 infections escalate in the Eastern Cape, confusion, misinformation and anxiety are rife. The need for clear, reliable and locally relevant information is urgent, especially in isolated rural communities....

Robyn Wolfson Vorster SA’s plans to combat child hunger were flawed prior to the Covid-19 crisis. And now, the absence of a strategic plan and funds for food relief could push already vulnerable children to the brink of starvation. Concern about child malnutrition made national news in...

By Stephen Grootes While so many South Africans are naturally worried about avoiding Covid-19, it is clear that to even more people the greatest fear is hunger. The evidence is that so far, food production has remained the same, but farmers have too much food on...

Recently, our country's leaders and medical representatives have publicly debated the effect of the lockdown on the malnutrition rates of our most vulnerable populations. Before Covid-19, a significant number of South Africans did not have access to sufficient food and were going hungry on a...

In commemoration of International World Hunger Day on 28 May 2020, Community Chest, in partnership with The Southern Africa Food Lab, has launched a publication entitled “Challenging False Narratives in a Global Crisis: Reflections on Human Rights, Inequality and Securing Food Systems”.   The compilation of papers, reflecting...

Public statement by the Southern Africa Food Lab 27 May 2020 The Southern Africa Food Lab notes with concern indications in the media and from first hand reports that government is acting to limit civil society initiatives for food security and food relief.  The lockdown, which was imposed on...

By Nic JJ Olivier and Sheryl L Hendriks For millions of poor households across Africa affected by lockdowns, the threat of contracting Covid-19 may be more distant than the very real fear of hunger. Many are indefinitely trapped in cramped homes with multiple household members, wondering...

Stephen Greenberg The Covid-19 crisis has exposed the stark inequalities that persist in our society. Vast disparities in access to healthcare, food, shelter, personal safety, water, transport and communications have been laid bare. Aside from imposing a lockdown, the government has been in disarray in responding to...