Aggregate per capita availability data suggest that South Africa is food secure in
almost all basic foodstuffs. Furthermore, South Africa has the highest per capita income
in Sub-Saharan Africa, and is categorized as a middle-income country with average per
capita gross national income of US $3,650 in 2004 (World Bank, 2004). These facts
suggest that hunger and food security should not be major policy issues in the country.
However, these aggregate data mask a highly unequal distribution of income and a huge
divide between relatively affluent urban areas and destitute conditions in many rural
communities. The richest 20% of the population receives over 60% of the income while
the poorest 20% receives less than 3% (World Development Report, 2002). At the
household level, over 30% of the population is categorized as vulnerable to food
insecurity and over 20% of the children are estimated to be stunted and vitamin A
deficient (Human Science Research Council, 2004).