By Buziwe Nocuze
· Siphokazi Dlisani spends over R3,000 a month feeding more than 100 people but says food donations have dried up as prices rise.
· She now serves pap, cabbage and soya soup after stopping meat and rice because she can no longer afford them.
When Siphokazi Dlisani opened the Isipho Sabantu Community Kitchen in 2022, she wanted to help hungry people in Mfuleni township. She used her own money to start feeding the poor, but now she fears she may have to close.
“At first, I spent about R3,000 on groceries and fed more than 100 people,” she said. “Later, people started helping with donations of food and money.”
But those donations have slowed to almost nothing. The cost of food keeps climbing, and Dlisani says she can no longer afford to buy many of the things she once did.
“I’ve stopped buying rice, meat and sausages. I now make pap with cabbage, soya soup, carrots or samp. If it wasn’t for the people depending on me, I would have closed already,” she said.
Every month she also has to pay R320 to fill her gas tank for cooking.
“When I started, people donated rice, oil or money for groceries. That stopped. I now get very few donations, and it’s difficult to keep going,” said Dlisani.
Despite her struggles, she refuses to give up because so many people rely on her meals.
“I used to bake bread and make vetkoek, but flour is too expensive now,” she said. “I don’t blame those who stopped donating, life is tough for everyone.”
Dlisani still cooks every day, feeding more than 100 people.
“I thought of stopping on grant days, but people begged me not to,” she said. “The money they get doesn’t even cover half their needs, so they still come back here for food.”
Resident Lukholo Mntuyedwa said the community is desperate for Dlisani’s help.
“We depend on her. If she stops, hunger will kill us. I pray she gets help to keep going,” he said.
Pictured above: Siphokazi Dlisani started a soup kitchen in 2022
Image source: Siphokazi Dlisani
