Participants listed all the foods that they always consume in their households. A variety of foods were mentioned in all communities, but most of the foods mentioned were starch (such as pap (stiff maize porridge), rice, potatoes, samp (crushed maize), bread and dumplings), along with meat and vegetables. The vegetables mentioned by almost all the groups were cabbage, onion and spinach. Chicken was the meat most mentioned, although all types of meat were being consumed in the communities. Traditional foods and wild vegetables were also mentioned in most of the groups except the urban one. Fruits were rarely mentioned.

We eat cabbage, spinach, beans, carrots, beetroot, mealies, amadumbe (Colocasia esculenta), potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, pap, samp, dumplings, bread, amahewu, fish, all types of meat, mbaqanga (mixture of beans and mealie meal), isijinga (mash of butternut and mealie meal), eggs, isipaklapakla (wild spinach) and imbuya spitsa/mholika, zaqathi (wild white carrot) and sometimes fruits like bananas, peaches, oranges, apples, figs, grapes. Clones

In all the focus groups, participants acquired their food in different ways. Four main methods were mentioned in most of the groups, namely own production, purchasing, collecting from open spaces and donations from the Department of Social Development, friends and family. Some participants also mentioned that they have enrolled for “work for food” programmes where they would work and get food parcels. Purchasing was the major means of accessing food for most participants in all towns.

We get all this food from different sources. We produce some of the food in our gardens e.g. vegetables like spinach, cabbage, potatoes, onions, beetroot, beans and maize. The greater part of the food we eat is from purchasing. Dundee urban

Most of the food eaten here is from the supermarkets. We always buy our food. Intabazwe

However, all focus groups in Richards Bay mentioned that they produce most of their vegetables and also collect wild vegetables which they consume. They mentioned that they only buy the food which they are not able to produce and a few get donations from the government (Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4).

We grow our food in our gardens and open spaces around our areas. We have fields in open spaces and we collect some vegetables like imbuya. We only buy the food that we do not produce and use almost on daily basis like rice, sugar, milk, cooking oil, mealie meal and meat. Esikhaleni

We grow vegetables like cabbage and we collect some vegetables which grow on their own from the wild like imfino isiZulu. We also buy the food we eat from the supermarkets in town, small markets around our neighbourhood and kiosks. Food like bread we can get from the tuckshops. Those people who are lazy and do not want to work are getting food parcels from the Department of Social Development. Khayalethemba

When asked whether they knew about a balanced diet, participants in all focus groups perceived that many people knew about healthy eating and getting enough nutrients for the body, although there were many factors which could force them into adopting a particular diet in their households.

We eat different types of food for healthy reasons. We get different types of nutrients from different types of food. We also eat different types of food so as to enjoy the meal and avoid being tired of the same type of meal always. Dundee urban

They diversify their diets to avoid getting tired of eating the same meal although they would sometimes consume different foods in the same food groups. Also, they consider the food which they produce as fresher, healthier and tastier than purchased food.

We eat different types of food for healthy reasons, for example, that is why we eat vegetables. Our food is healthier, fresh and tastes nice unlike shops’ food which is unhealthy. At times we are forced by circumstances to eat the same type of food always. For example, we eat more of rice, pap and bread to fill our stomachs but we know it is not healthy since we will be missing some nutrients. You cannot just eat one thing over and over again because you get tired of it and your body will lack some nutrients. We eat beans because they are healthy and cheaper at the same time, but we do not enjoy eating them (beans). Also, they (beans) become costly because you cook for a long time and it charges electricity which is very expensive so sometimes we limit to cabbage. Some of us do not have husbands in our homes so we just eat whatever we get at that moment because we do not have money. KwaMonica

The participants also mentioned that the love for a particular food, preference, fulfilment of hunger, household income and just consuming the food present at the moment also influences their diet.

We normally eat so as to satisfy our stomachs and we do not consider food diversity. We only diversify due to preference and what is present. We do not consider a balanced diet, we just eat what is available. We like meat but if there is no money to buy it, we just eat pap and cabbage. Intabazwe

Time of food abundance was slightly different between towns as perceived by the focus group participants. Participants in different communities in the same town had mixed feelings about the time of the year they have more food, especially in Dundee. Some perceived that food is abundant in summer, others in winter and some said food was abundant all year-round in their communities.

We have more food in winter after we have harvested but also in summer when it rains we can get some food from the wild especially fruits and vegetables. Those with taps at their homes can produce vegetables throughout the year. Clones

In winter there is serious shortage of food but in summer it is better because of the rains so we can collect from the wild and there is food for the animals. Tayside

In Harrismith, focus group participants in all communities perceived that food was abundant in summer mainly due to low food prices. Some also perceived that food abundance can only be achieved when people have received their salaries or grants at the end of the months.

In summer, there is more food as people produce more. Food prices are low in summer because of increased supply from September to December. In winter production is low because of low rainfall therefore the food is imported from other places and food is very expensive. In summer, food prices are low so we are able to buy more food. Tshiame B

There is enough food in summer after harvesting and because food prices are less than in winter. We also eat better after we receive grants but these grants are very little. Makgolokweng

In Richards Bay, all focus group participants agreed that they have enough food in abundance throughout the year, but winter was better than summer mostly due to more rains and pests in summer.

We have two seasons in this area, winter and summer. We get food in all seasons because it rains throughout the year therefore we produce food all year-round. However, we prefer winter because we harvest more during that season because there are less insects that affect plants in our gardens. In summer there is too much rain and insects which affect plant growth and produce. We harvest our plants all year-round but the big harvest is in winter. Khayalethemba

In mostly Richards Bay and Dundee, some focus group participants were practising own production either in the form of keeping livestock or gardening. In Harrismith communities, this was rare. The animals which were kept were mostly cattle, goats and chickens. Cattle were mainly kept for meat, milk and ceremonies like paying lobola (bride-wealth) and performing some cultural rituals. Goats were kept for meat and also for cultural rituals. Chickens were kept for meat and selling, and rarely they would produce eggs. Communities also produced vegetables for food and selling. However, a number of communities were not happy with their level of production as they perceived they would do more if they had enough knowledge, resources, water supplies, land, enough pastures for the animals and also some help from the government.

We grow vegetables like spinach, cabbage and onions in our gardens for both our consumption and for selling. We keep chickens (both the traditional type and broilers), cattle, goats and sheep. We keep these animals mainly for food (meat and milk), to use in the fields and during some ceremonies like cattle to pay lobola and goats for our cultural rituals. We mostly keep broilers for selling but we do not sell our cattle. Meat production is affected by less pastures due to low rainfall. Also, there is an invasive plant (shanello yasendle) that is growing in the pasture areas and is affecting the growth of grass. This has affected the production of meat as there is not enough food for the domestic animals. We have very limited numbers of livestock because we do not have enough pastures to feed many. Therefore, we are discouraged from keeping a large herd of livestock. Also, there are some wild animals which come and eat our livestock. Clones

We produce enough vegetables to eat and a surplus for sell but some of the food and meat we buy from the markets. We fail to produce enough food because we lack the knowledge on how to go about proper farming. Agricultural officers just focus on distributing seeds to us but do not teach us on when, how and what to produce at a time. There are no practical lessons or follow ups on what they tell us. Our land is fertile, we put cow manure in the fields and we have good climate but we do not have enough knowledge to practice proper farming. Sometimes we grow enough and people from town come and buy. Some promise to come back and buy but they do not come so our products end up rotting. Our produce is wasted if we fail to get market especially cabbage. We need machines to use in preserving or drying our vegetables. We do not know how we can go about it and we are failing to get help from agricultural organisations. If we are given proper knowledge and progressive lessons with agricultural extension officers on how to farm, we believe we can improve our production. We also keep cattle, goats mainly for food (meat and milk). We also keep chickens for meat and we sell to get some money but we do not sell or slaughter our cattle always because they are very few so we normally use for ceremonies. Although we get meat from our livestock, we feel we can produce better quantities and quality if we get proper knowledge since we are not educated. Khayalethemba

We keep chickens mostly the traditional type for meat, our level of food production is limited by a number of things which are theft, water shortages, land is not enough, and we lack resources and knowledge to practice proper agriculture. Makgolokweng

Focus group participants in almost all communities perceived that there are certain factors that hindered them from fully engaging in farming and many households had difficulties in practising own production. The perceived barriers to own production were related to lack of income and resources due to high levels of unemployment, lack of enough land, water shortages, theft, limited knowledge, insufficient government support, laziness and some form of individual lifestyle as some perceived farming or gardening a sign of living in poverty. However, participants in Richards Bay mentioned lack of knowledge, laziness and theft, as well as failure to get a market, as the major impediments to own production.

We have problems of animal theft in our communities so we do not keep much livestock. We get discouraged sometimes because we fail to get market for our produce and it ends up rotting and wasting away. We do not have the means to preserve our farm produce. We used to produce enough food to eat and a surplus for sell but now our land has been affected by Richards Bay minerals (RBM). RBM has affected our homes, land and water but they are not compensating us. Because of them we no longer have enough even the fruit trees we used to have in the open spaces like guava have dried. RBM have grown trees that are sucking water from the soil and these trees are making the soil to lose its fertility thereby affecting our crops. Before the mine was established, we used to have enough food as we were growing our own food and even getting fruits and imfino from the forests. However, there are community projects which we do where we work together, share ideas on how we can get better production but some community members do not cooperate because they are lazy and they feel that working in the fields is for poor people. KwaMbonambi

Farming in our area is not viable because we have limited land, we do not have farming equipment, seeds and fertilisers. We do not have money to buy these because most of us are unemployed. Water shortage is also a big issue in our area which is causing us not to produce more food. We can’t make gardens flourish because the water we are using on daily basis is being supplied to us by trucks and we cannot run gardens through such water. The water supply is also not efficient and at times we go beyond a month without supply so our life becomes very difficult. Also, some people are lazy and do not want to work in the gardens. They think it is something that is done by the poorest. Because not everyone will be having gardens in the community, some of the food is stolen and this is discouraging most people because it’s a waste. It is also difficult to keep so many domestic animals because of thieves in this area. We are willing to work with our hands to produce our own food but we have limited land and farming equipment. We desire to produce chickens (broilers) but there is a lot of criminal activities. It is difficult to produce because there are so many thieves in the area who can come and take the chickens when they are ready for sale. Makgolokweng

We have no enough land to make the gardens and fence to protect our gardens from animals although some are just lazy. Water is another big problem that hinders us from doing our own production. There is shortage of water and tap water is not reliable, most of the time we don’t have water and this is a dry place with very limited rains. Often, the rains come too late for production of crops like maize. We cannot afford to buy fertilisers for our crops and we also do not have pest control measures for our crops and this affects production. Many lack agricultural knowledge but we feel we can produce better if we have the knowledge, enough land, water and income. Those are the main issues that are causing us not to do farming. Also, if we are helped with fencing our gardens so that no animals can eat our vegetables. Tayside

Focus group participants in most communities perceived that they were food insecure although some expressed mixed feelings about some households in the communities being food secure and others experiencing food insecurity. Some participants, especially in Richards Bay, mentioned that they were food secure although some, mostly female-headed households were food insecure. In the other towns, most participants said they were food insecure and the government was just ignoring them.

Some families are getting all the food they need and they are food secure. Most of us are not employed and we do not have husbands to take care of us and the children, so we are not getting enough food. KwaMonica

Some households are food secure but food is not enough for the majority of the households. People are hungry and there is no food that they are getting from the government. Dundee urban

Not at all, we are very hungry people and we are suffering. Sibongile

No. The food is not enough in many homes, we are hungry. Intabazwe

Focus group participants in all communities of Dundee and Harrismith perceived that many households were facing difficulties in obtaining enough food for the whole family every month. They perceived that the causes of food insecurity in their communities were mostly related to unemployment, lack of land, unreliable rains and water shortages, high food prices, lack of income, insufficient support from the government and, to a lesser extent, laziness. Some participants from rural communities mentioned lack of land as a contributor to food insecurity, but this was not accepted by all participants because some mentioned that rural households have land, which, although not large, could at least be suitable for home gardens. The families that are most vulnerable to food insecurity are those that are female-headed with the burden of taking care of children and grandchildren and those with no source of income because the bread winner is unemployed. However, in Richards Bay participants perceived that many households who are suffering from food insecurity are lazy, although they also acknowledged that the unemployed, female-headed households and orphans are at great risk.

There are community projects which we do where we work together, share ideas on how we can get better production but some community members do not cooperate because they are lazy so they end up resorting to begging and handouts/food parcels from the Department of Social Development. These won’t last for the whole month so they end up suffering from hunger and they keep on blaming the government and RBM, instead of working hard to get food. Those who do not want to work with their hands find themselves hungry and start begging for food or steal from our fields. Households with non-employed members struggle to get food and some are below the receiving age for elderly grant. Most are not getting the child support grant and they are carrying the burden of feeding and educating the orphaned children and their grandchildren. There are no food donations to cater for the orphaned children who are hungry. Female-headed households and orphans are suffering. KwaMbonambi

We are hungry because we do not have money to buy enough food and we do not have land to produce our own food. We are not employed so we don’t have enough money to buy food. We don’t have jobs, we don’t have money and we do not have food. The other problem is electricity rates are very high and they are taking a huge chunk of our income which is the grant. We do not cook beans because it uses more electricity. The grant is not enough for everything like buying food, paying electricity bills and school fees. If we do not get the grant then there is a big problem and we go hungry even more since the money is not enough. There are no NGO’s (Non-Governmental Organisations) that are giving us support and Social Development people promised to come and provide food for us but they did not come. We are living in poverty and no one is helping us. We are very poor because most of us are not employed and this is striking hard on us. Sibongile

Many households are run by widows and single mothers and food shortages are higher in female-headed households. Some do not want to make gardens due to lack of resources but some it is just out of laziness especially the youth, they think it is for us old people. The area is dry and there are communal taps which provide water to everyone and some individuals have managed to draw water to their homes. Some have failed because of financial problems. The land is fertile but it is dry. Also, unemployment is on the rise. Clones

Food availability is not a problem at all, the problem is money. We are not employed, we don’t have jobs and some are not getting grants from the government. Food is very expensive especially in winter because production is low because of low rainfall therefore the food is imported from other places. Food is available at the markets but if you do not have the money to buy you won’t get it. Food is very expensive in these shops and the quantities are too little. The quantities in their packaging do not match the price and because we are not employed we have financial constraints and are not able to buy more. There is efficient transport system to take us to town where we can buy food at reasonable prices but these taxis are also very expensive. We do not have money because we are not working, we are struggling to make ends meet. For most households, food is not enough because we have to buy everything from the markets and it is very expensive. It is better if we get directly from the farmers because the prices are low. We therefore buy less and cheaper food which we do not want to avoid hunger. We are hungry because we cannot farm because we do not have the land, we do not have water and there is no food that we are getting from the government. If there are no rains, there is no food. Department of Social Development has promised to give us food parcels for children who do not receive child grants but the food parcels never came. The grant is too little, it won’t last us for days because the money is too little to buy food for the month. Unemployment is the main problem, we are struggling to make ends meet. Makgolokweng

Participants in all communities had strong feelings that food security in their communities can be improved through working hard, being engaged in community projects and being formally employed. Although the projects can easily be implemented by the community members, some felt that they need financial support from the government as well as jobs. Participants in Dundee and Harrismith perceived that there is need for support in providing water and fencing for gardens as well as strategies to boost their knowledge on agriculture through community engagement programmes. They believe that engaging in agriculture, receiving food parcels and social grants can improve food security in their communities.

Those who work hard and families with employed bread winners are having enough food to feed their families and also to sell. Though we are not formally employed we grow some of our food and we get money through selling our produce then buy what we do not have. We have never experienced hunger before like what we hear from other places. We have enough food because we work hard. If you work hard you will have enough to put on the table. There are community projects which we do where we work together, share ideas on how we can get better production and the community members who are cooperating are getting food for their families from these project gardens. Also, if we are helped with fencing our gardens so that no animals can eat our vegetables. Khayalethemba

Some households are producing enough food for their families and these have water and land. Some homes have enough especially those homes with people who are formally employed. Therefore, employment, availability of land and water can improve food security in our communities. Clones

The families who work hard are food secure because they get the food to eat. Some families are getting food vouchers from social welfare, food parcels from NGOs and some are getting social grants. This is helping to fight against hunger. Dundee urban

Employment is the key to having enough food in many households. The homes that have enough food are those with people who are formally employed. If we also get jobs, this will improve our situation. Tshiame