Rising food prices, particularly of maize and wheat, which are the staple diet of the poor in South Africa, have posed serious problems for the urban and rural poor.

Based on recent information from the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO 2009), supported by independent sources (Heady & Fan 2008), food prices will continue to increase steadily over the next decade.

Due to the current drought in the United States of America, a very hot summer in Russia and excessive rain in Brazil there are severe constraints placed on the global food chain which are pushing up prices around the world.

The (FAO 2012) indicated that its index of global food prices rose 6% in July, the biggest increase since November 2009.  Hunger continues to be one of the greatest challenges in the new South Africa and one of the key driving forces exacerbating the problem is the rising cost of food.

According to the General Household Survey (GHS 2010) it is estimated that 21,9% of South African households have inadequate or severely inadequate access to food. The rural areas of South Africa bear the brunt of living without the fundamental security of regular meals, with unemployment levels as high as 70% in some rural communities. (The national average is 25.7%). 

A study done by the Human Science Research Council in 2009, revealed that 19% of households reported skipping meals, and 20% ran out of money to buy food, 35% to 70% of expenditure goes to food in poor households, 50% to 80% of households could not afford an acceptable nutritional balance and based on current prics and levels of fortification only 20% of households could afford a minimum nutritionally adequate diet.

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