Activists picket at Parliament over rising cost of healthy foods
Health activists say healthy meals are becoming the privilege of the wealthy.
On World Food Day, they have taken their frustration with the rising cost of healthy food to lawmakers.
The People's Health Movement picketed outside Parliament on Wednesday.
In a list of demands, the movement wants to address hunger and food insecurity and ensure that South Africans have affordable access to healthy food.
"In the past 10 years, the price of food has almost doubled, which has left almost 20 million people in South Africa going to bed hungry," says the group's Tinashe Njanji.
"At the same time, we have about 30 million South Africans who are struggling each year to afford food for their families, but on the other side, we have 10 million tonnes [of food] going to waste. We are calling on government to address this crisis."
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At the same time, a non-profit organisation that fights hunger by rescuing food says South Africa's food insecurity crisis is not just about lack of access to food but to nutritious food.
A recent national survey by the Human Sciences Research Council revealed that 63.5% of South African households face food insecurity.
Founder of SA Harvest Alan Browdehas warned this spells trouble, as access to a varied diet has become a luxury, especially in marginalised communities.
"We have to understand the lack of nutrition is a lack of food, which is a result of food being basically too expensive for the people of South Africa to afford. That is why nearly 65% of the households are food-vulnerable. We have to undertake legislation that makes food more affordable to the people of South Africa, not only food but nutritious food."
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