For many South African families, putting food on the table is not simply a question of what is available. It is a question of what can actually be afforded.
And for women carrying much of the responsibility for household food, that calculation can become particularly painful.
In July, feeding one child a basic nutritious diet cost R980.66, according to the figures supplied by Refreshi. The Child Support Grant is R580 per child per month, leaving a R400.66 shortfall every month, for every child. The South African government confirms the current Child Support Grant at R580 per month.
That gap is the focus of a Women’s Month campaign from Cape Town surplus-food marketplace Refreshi, which argues that part of the answer may already be sitting on supermarket, bakery and restaurant shelves.
Not as waste.
But as discounted food that still has value.
The Food Gap Behind the Food Inflation Numbers
South Africa’s food inflation has been easing. But slower inflation does not necessarily mean food has become affordable for households already struggling to keep up.
According to the figures provided by Refreshi, food inflation stood at 1.6% in June, down from 2.9% in April.
At the same time, the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group’s figures cited in the release put the average household food basket at R5,530.52 in July, an increase of R87.81 year-on-year.
For a woman earning the national minimum wage, the numbers become even more difficult.
The release states that a full-time worker on the national minimum wage takes home R4,836.80 a month.
That means the stated average food basket costs R693.72 more than the entire monthly wage, before accounting for rent, electricity, transport or school fees.
As Refreshi founder and CEO Jakob Holbak puts it, the problem is bigger than what headline inflation figures reveal.
“Slower price growth has done little to help households already priced out.”
When Women Go Without So Their Children Can Eat
The pressure is not shared equally.
The release cites research from the State of Household Food Insecurity in South Africa 2026 Report, researched by the University of Cape Town’s Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU) for FoodForward SA.
According to the figures supplied, one in 10 female-headed households is severely food insecure, almost twice the rate recorded among male-headed households.
Even more strikingly, 61% of surveyed households reported women skipping meals so their children could eat.
That paints a picture of food insecurity that cannot be captured by a supermarket receipt alone.
Women are often making the daily decisions about what goes into the trolley, which meals can be stretched, what can wait and what the family simply cannot afford.
The release also cites the PMBEJD Household Affordability Index, which describes women as smart and savvy shoppers who shop around for bargains.
But there is a point where even the best bargain is not enough.
When the money runs out, something has to leave the trolley.
The Contradiction: Food Is Being Wasted While Families Struggle
This is where Refreshi sees an opportunity.
South Africa has a major food-waste problem alongside its affordability crisis.
FoodForward SA Managing Director Andy Du Plessis estimates that approximately 10 million tonnes of food are wasted in South Africa each year, according to the supplied release. Refreshi’s own information also identifies the country’s surplus-food problem as a major reason for its platform.
The contradiction is difficult to ignore.
Food exists.
Families need food.
Yet perfectly usable surplus can still end up being discarded.
Wits Business School’s Ravi Pillay, speaking at the launch of the Food Insecurity Report, described the situation as a contradiction: South Africa has food, but it does not necessarily reach the people who need it.
Refreshi’s model attempts to create a bridge between those two realities.
Turning Surplus Into Savings
The concept is straightforward.
Businesses have food that remains unsold but is still appropriate for consumption. Instead of allowing that surplus to become waste, participating businesses can offer it through Refreshi at discounted prices.
Consumers then purchase “Surprise Bags” through the app and collect them from participating stores.
Refreshi’s official platform describes the model as connecting surplus food from grocery stores, coffee shops, bakeries and restaurants with consumers at discounted prices.
The food is not being presented as damaged or expired stock.
The supplied release describes it as surplus food that participating businesses need to sell within its appropriate consumption period. Refreshi’s food-safety guidance also states that stores should only offer food that is safe to eat at collection and must not sell or distribute products past their use-by date.
That distinction is important.
The idea is not to make consumers choose between affordability and quality.
It is to find value in food that might otherwise go unsold.
R12.5 Million Saved by Consumers
Since launching in March 2025, Refreshi says its platform has helped South African consumers save R12.5 million on grocery bills.
It also says participating stores have received R10 million in revenue from surplus stock that could otherwise have been discarded.
That creates a three-way proposition.
Consumers save money.
Businesses recover revenue.
Food avoids becoming waste.
According to Refreshi, that is the opportunity sitting behind surplus food.
One Customer Saw the Bigger Picture
For Maxime Eady, the story started with a bakery.
She had walked past a bakery in Claremont, Cape Town, for two years without going inside.
Then she booked a discounted bag of baked goods through Refreshi.
The experience changed how she viewed both the platform and her own grocery spending. According to the supplied release, the discounted bag almost halved her monthly grocery bill.
But Eady did not stop at being a customer.
She applied for a position at Refreshi and now works for the startup full-time.
Her experience also highlighted something bigger about the daily economics of household food.
“Women are often the ones in charge of buying groceries, planning meals and stretching budgets while trying to prevent anything from going to waste.”
That responsibility can include everything from bread and school lunches to supper and snacks.
Each individual purchase may seem small.
Together, they become a monthly financial battle.
How Refreshi’s Surprise Bags Work
The process is designed to be simple.
1. Find a Surprise Bag
Consumers browse available surplus-food offers from participating stores through the Refreshi app.
2. Reserve and pay
The selected bag is purchased through the app.
3. Collect it
The customer goes to the participating store during the specified collection window and collects the bag.
Refreshi’s official guidance confirms that Surprise Bags contain surplus food from participating stores and that customers purchase through the app before collecting at the specified time.
Participating businesses named in the supplied release include Spar, OK Mini Marks, King Pie, Vovo Telo, Bootlegger, Vida e Caffe and Ou Meul, among others.
The contents are intentionally a surprise because stores cannot always predict exactly which products will remain unsold.
A Different Kind of Women’s Month Conversation
Women’s Month often celebrates women’s achievements, strength and contribution.
But it can also be a moment to examine the invisible pressures many women carry every day.
Food budgeting is one of them.
The figures presented by Refreshi suggest that for women managing household food budgets, the challenge is not simply finding cheaper products. It is making limited money stretch across increasingly demanding needs.
A R400.66 monthly gap may sound like one number.
For a household, it can mean fewer items in the trolley.
It can mean changing a meal.
It can mean going without.
And, according to the research cited in the release, it can mean a mother skipping a meal so her child can eat.
That is why the surplus-food argument is compelling.
If quality food is already available, and if some of it can be sold for less before it becomes waste, then affordability and food-waste reduction do not have to be separate conversations.
They can be part of the same solution.
The Bigger Question: What If Less Food Went to Waste?
Refreshi’s proposition is ultimately about changing the journey of surplus food.
Instead of:
produced → unsold → discarded
the model aims for:
produced → unsold → discounted → consumed.
The company’s platform currently connects consumers with surplus food from grocery stores, bakeries, cafés, restaurants and other food businesses.
And that makes the R400.66 gap more than a statistic.
It becomes a question of whether South Africa can find smarter ways to move food through the system before it becomes waste.
Because for households already counting every rand, a discount is not always just a good deal.
Sometimes, it is the difference between putting something extra in the trolley and leaving it behind.
