The nonprofit FoodForward SA has red-flagged the sharp rise in nutrition insecurity in South African households over the past five years, driven by rising living costs, food prices and unemployment. Despite this, it notes that about 10 million tonnes of food is still lost or wasted across the food system.
The nonprofit FoodForward SA is calling for bold policy-making and purposeful action to address the sharp rise in food and nutrition insecurity in South Africa over the past five years. It points to escalating living costs, soaring food prices and rising unemployment as key factors behind the deepening crisis affecting millions.
In April 2026, the organisation released research in partnership with the University of Cape Town's Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (Saldru), looking at the severity of food insecurity in households dependent on donation-based food assistance, capturing the experiences of those "for whom conventional coping strategies have been exhausted and external support is essential".
In a 12-month reference period, the study found that about 70% of surveyed households fell into the categories of either moderate (45%) or severe (25%) food insecurity, with only 30% reporting mild or adequate food access.
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The most affected households included those with children, youth-headed households and those reliant on unstable or informal employment.
Rising food insecurity
The report highlighted the rise in the overall number of food-insecure people in South Africa recorded by Statistics South Africa, going from about 14.25 million food-insecure and 5.2 million severely food-insecure people in 2019 to 17.8...
