South Africans grappling with the burden of escalating living expenses are now going into debt to pay for their groceries.
With the national minimum wage at R27.58 per hour, which equates to R220.64 for an eight-hour workday and R4 633.44 for the typical 21-day workmonth, an individual earning this would find it challenging to afford an average household food basket, further confirming FinMark’s finding.How SA’s middle class lost their wealth over a decade
For instance, the child support grant is R530, whereas the average cost of a basic nutritional basket for children is R959.38, and the food poverty line, as calculated by Statistics South Africa, is R760 per capita per month. This indicates that the child support grant falls 30% below the food poverty line and 45% below the average cost needed to secure a basic nutritious diet for a child.The report has uncovered a range of concerning findings, with food insecurity being just one of them.