FOOD BASKET: Water crisis: floods, drought, and a pricier basket of food

Six out of nine provinces had flooding in May, leading to a national disaster being declared, while a looming El Niño threatens drought towards the end of the year, affecting agricultural outputs, and eventually, the price of a food basket.

Maverick Citizen has been tracking the prices of 14 basic food items that can be bought with the R370 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant. Between April and May, Daily Maverick’s food basket decreased by R4 to R419.86. While flour increased in cost by R5, rice decreased by R12. The food basket is about R50 more expensive than the R370 SRD grant.

The Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity’s Household Affordability Index tracks 44 basic food items. In May, their household food basket cost R5,479.26, increasing by R27.17 since April.

The basic nutritional basket with a household of seven members now costs R6,634.22, an increase of R15,23 since April.

“It means that in May 2026, families living on low-incomes may underspend on basic nutritional food by a minimum of 17%,” the Household Affordability Index said.

“The SRD grant remains a scandalous R370 a month, barely enough to survive for a few days in today’s economy,” said Zwelinzima Vavi, Saftu General Secretary, at the World Hunger Day media briefing with the Union Against Hunger, on 26 May 2026.

“The state funds that are given to social grant recipients are taken from them, not in the grants themselves, but in the food that goes into their mouths. Someone who had a social grant in 2004 and 2005 has less food on their plate today,” said Nomzamo Zondo, the Executive Director of the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa at the World Hunger Day media briefing.

Climate change means more unstable and extreme weather. SA is not immune. The government declared a national disaster following heavy rainfall and flooding in the Western Cape, North West, Free State, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and Mpumalanga, which began on May 4.

“Our teams are working extensively in the Breede Valley district, we’ve seen total destruction of vineyards in the Rawsonville area and the De Doorns area,” said Ali Sablay, spokesperson and project manager at Gift of the Givers. “Within a few hours, many vineyards got washed away.”

Sablay reported that SA Social Security Agency grant recipients in Rawsonville could not withdraw their money as the ATMs were offline. He visited homes that were completely destroyed, and saw three homes that were washed away by the floods.

One of those homes belonged to Mekjies Esbach (63), who is blind and has spent her entire life on the farm.