With food and petrol prices rocketing, impoverished people sacrifice nutritious food for starches that keep them full, leaving children malnourished and adults prone to disease.
Abrahams said the PMBEJD welcomes this move, but the list of foods being investigated is too short. Products such as sugar beans are not being queried, and they should be.“Price increases in essential foods can be more damaging to poorer consumers for whom essential foods shape a larger part of their consumption and household expenditure,” the commission said.
“We provide freshly baked bread and vegetables from the garden and we buy groceries for about 15 families in need. This has increased from 10 families because of the need in communities. We buy 10kg rice, 10kg maize meal, tinned beans, pilchards, oil, brown sugar, potatoes and soap for bathing and washing clothes,” said Gumede.Activist Hlengiwe Gumede, Children of Destiny at Home in Hammarsdale“Money doesn’t take us as far as it used to and we don’t have enough donations to feed more people.