The Amy Foundation was able to see that firsthand as the queues for food increased daily and at the height of winter 2021  snaked around the entire block, where men, women and children waited in the cold and wet for a hot meal to take home, for many the only hot meal that they would have for that day and for others in two days as we could only afford to run a feeding scheme every second day from the schools.

A major contributor to South Africa’s hunger crisis is the economic downturn and loss of income as a result of Covid-19, yet food prices continue to rise despite the Constitution’s assertion that all citizens have a right to sufficient food. South Africa’s hunger crisis, fuelled by poverty and unemployment, has long existed, predating the Covid-19 pandemic and the advent of democracy in the country. The effects of hunger cannot be overstated. They affect not only individuals but also place a strain on the health system, with many people developing diseases from malnutrition such as high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes. Lack of proper nutrition stunts children’s growth and development.

According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification analysis report, an organisation that analyses food security in the Southern African Development Community, from January to March 2021, 11.8 million people in South Africa were classified as being at IPC Phase 3, which means their level of hunger is at crisis level.  

Help us this Mandela Day feed the youth of the township of Gugulethu, Philippi and Bonteheuwel.