Meals on Wheels partners with Arena Holdings to help fight hunger

As 14.7% of South Africans experienced hunger in 2025, Meals on Wheels Community Services South Africa has partnered with Arena Holdings to launch a nationwide campaign aimed at mobilising businesses and individuals to help feed vulnerable communities.

The Help End Hunger campaign was announced ahead of World Food Day on Friday, as concerns grow about food insecurity and the affordability of nutritious meals.

Meals on Wheels acting CEO Effort Bhebhe said hunger remained a national crisis affecting children, older people and families struggling to meet their basic needs.

“As we mark World Food Day this year, we should resist the comfort of believing that hunger is someone else’s problem. It is a national emergency hiding in plain sight across informal settlements, rural villages, township homes, and, increasingly, households whose incomes no longer stretch to the end of the month,” said Bhebhe.

The partnership with Arena Holdings, publisher of the Sunday Times, Sowetan and Business Day, aims to encourage companies, organisations and members of the public to donate meals to people who cannot afford to feed themselves.

The 2026 South African Food Security Index, released this week, shows that the country’s food security score fell from 56.5 in 2024 to 52.6 in 2025, following an improvement from 44.9 in 2023.

The index also found that household vulnerability had reached its highest level since 2010.

Despite South Africa producing enough food to feed its population, many households struggle to access it because of unemployment, rising living costs and limited purchasing power.

Bhebhe said families were increasingly turning to cheaper products and smaller pack sizes, often sacrificing protein, fresh produce and dietary diversity to make their budgets last.

“Unemployment and stagnant earnings erode purchasing power, while food budgets must compete with electricity, transportation, and other essential expenses whose costs have risen sharply in recent years,” he said.

Climate shocks, inadequate infrastructure, unequal access to land and markets, and food waste further compound the problem.

The index identified rural female-headed households as particularly vulnerable, highlighting the need for interventions that respond to the different challenges facing communities across the country.

Government initiatives, including social grants, school nutrition programmes and social relief support, form part of the response to food insecurity. Farmers, businesses, community kitchens, faith-based organisations and volunteers also help provide food to people in need.

However, Bhebhe said these efforts needed better coordination and long-term support.

He called on national, provincial and local governments to use data to identify communities most affected by hunger, align budgets and procurement, support small-scale producers and make nutritious food more affordable.

He also urged businesses to treat food security as a long-term social and economic priority rather than an annual corporate initiative.

Meals on Wheels has provided meals to vulnerable people across South Africa for more than 60 years. Its services include cooked meals, food parcels, disaster relief and community development initiatives.

The organisation said it delivered more than 70-million meals in 2024. In 2026, it has been delivering about 8.6-million meals a month through 181 core kitchens, more than 800 satellite kitchens and a fleet of more than 200 delivery vehicles.

Its work also includes community gardens, caregiving, home visits, container kitchens and skills-related support.

Bhebhe said civil society organisations played an important role in reaching vulnerable communities but could not address the country’s food insecurity crisis alone.

As part of the Help End Hunger campaign, businesses are being encouraged to sponsor meals, support community kitchens, donate surplus food that is safe to eat, and contribute vehicles, equipment and other resources.

Individuals are also being urged to make one-off or monthly donations to help cover the cost of meals, ingredients, fuel and kitchen operations.

Bhebhe said sustained partnerships between government, businesses and community organisations were needed to ensure that support reached those who needed it most.

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