By Anita Dangazele
- The Child Support Grant went up R20 in April, to R580 a month.
- A nutritious diet for one child now costs R964.94.
The Child Support Grant rose to R580 in April but it costs R964.94 a month to feed one child a proper diet.
The grant is 40% below what a nutritious monthly diet for a child actually costs, according to the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group.
The Child Support Grant went up in April. Caregivers now receive R580 a month per child, R20 more than before. It is not enough.
According to the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group, which tracks food prices monthly across South Africa, it costs R964.94 to feed a child a nutritious diet for one month. That is R384.94 more than the grant provides.
The gap is not new. It has been there for years. But in April 2026, the cost to feed a child rose by R30.02 in a single month, pushing the figure further out of reach. The R20 added to the grant did not come close to covering it.
The grant is also 32% below the National Food Poverty Line of R855 per person per month. That is the threshold below which a person cannot consume enough food to meet their minimum daily energy requirements.
For teenagers the costs are even higher. Feeding a boy aged 14 to 18 costs R1,100.56 a month. A girl the same age costs R978.55. The grant covers just over half of what they need.
The PMBEJD tracks prices at 47 supermarkets and 32 butcheries across Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town, Pietermaritzburg and several other areas. Its April data showed costs rising across all regions, with Pietermaritzburg recording the steepest increase of R248.25 in a single month.
The group says the R20 increase on the grant has not made a dent in the deficit caregivers face every month.
And for the families who earn a wage, the picture is no better.
Work or wait for a grant, either way, you go hungry
A minimum wage worker in April 2026 took home R4,594.96. After transport and electricity, R1,893 is left. A family of four needs R3,787 for food.
The minimum wage went up in March. Workers now earn R30.23 an hour. On a 19-working-day month like April 2026, that comes to R4,594.96 before anything is paid.
Then comes transport. Then electricity. Together, those two costs take R2,701.85, which is 58.8% of the wage. R1,520 goes to getting to work and back. R1,181.85 goes to keeping the lights on.
What is left is R1,893.11.
The problem is that a family of four needs R3,787.34 worth of food for the month. That is according to the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group, which designed a basic nutritional food basket with a registered dietician and tracks its cost monthly at supermarkets and butcheries across the country.
The shortfall is R1,894.23. Half the food bill, gone before a single item lands in the trolley.
The PMBEJD notes that for Black South African workers, one wage typically supports four people. When the R4,594.96 is split four ways, each person receives R1,148.74. That is below the National Lower-Bound Poverty Line of R1,415 per person per month.
The 5% wage increase that took effect in March added R241.92 to a worker’s monthly pay. It does not touch the food gap.
If every rand left after transport and electricity went to food, each family member would have R473.28 for the month. The National Food Poverty Line is R855 per person.
Pictured above: A trolley full of groceries.
Image source: Pexels
