By Anita Dangazele
- The Child Support Grant is a flat R580 a month, whether a child is three years old or seventeen.
- Feeding a teenage boy a basic nutritious diet costs R1,114.81 a month, PMBEJD says, nearly double what the grant pays.
South Africa’s Child Support Grant pays R580 a month, no matter how old a child is. But the older a child gets, the less that money actually covers.
For a small child aged three to nine, a basic nutritious diet costs R865.46 a month, according to the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group’s June 2026 Household Affordability Index. The grant covers most of that.
By the time a child is a teenage boy aged 14 to 18, the real cost of feeding him properly rises to R1,114.81 a month. The grant now covers just over half of what he needs.
For a teenage girl in the same age group, the cost is R991.05 a month. The grant does not adjust for age or gender.
The average cost to feed a child a basic nutritious diet across all ages was R977.52 in June 2026. PMBEJD says the R580 grant is 41% below that figure, and 32% below the National Food Poverty Line of R855 a month, as calculated by Statistics South Africa.
The Child Support Grant increased by R20 in April 2026. It has not changed since.
Nationally, 12.58 million children receive the grant every month. Their families have to make up whatever it does not cover, every month, as their children keep growing.
PMBEJD’s basket is designed around what a child needs for balanced nutrition, not just what is affordable. It was put together with a registered dietician, Philippa Barnard.
Pictured above: A trolley full of groceries.
Image source: File
