Government payment delay forces Joburg's biggest food bank to close

• Published date: 08 May 2024
• Publication title: Mail & Guardian: Web Edition Articles (Johannesburg, South Africa)

The food bank, run by the Believers Care Society, distributes about 5,000 parcels per month

Several other food banks in Gauteng are also on the verge of closure due to funding delays. This follows months of insufficient stock to distribute food parcels to beneficiaries.

The department's spokesperson Themba Gadebe told GroundUp that Believers Care Society and other food banks are currently "under investigation". He provided no further details of what allegations the food bank faces. The food bank declined to comment.

According to a senior department official with close knowledge of the situation, there are about 1,800 food parcels ready for distribution which are locked inside the food bank's building. Food banks are still receiving parcels from suppliers contracted by the department, but have not received funds to distribute them.

The official said that Believers Care Society had defaulted on its rent and the landlord confiscated the keys. GroundUp visited the food bank in Booysens, Johannesburg on Monday and found the doors locked.

A security guard at the premises told our reporter that the food bank was still open on Friday. About 20 people work at the facility, the security guard said. Believers Care Society declined to comment on this.

Between them, the food banks feed thousands of families across Gauteng who depend on the parcels. The department's target is to reach 100,000 households a year through its food security programme.

The food banks are dependent on funding from the provincial Department of Social Development and cannot pay their rent or staff's salaries.

But GroundUp understands that funds meant for operational expenses, including rent and salaries, have not been paid since the start of the financial year. This, according to our source, has been caused by a delay in the signing of Service Level Agreements with the organisations running the food banks.

According to written answers by MEC for Social Development Mbali Hlope to questions posed by the DA's Refille Nt'sheke on 26 March, spending on the department's food relief programs amounted to R185.7-million by 25 February. This included R17.8-million on food banks and a total of R74-million on food parcels meant for households and HIV clinics.

GroundUp has seen emails between senior managers at DSD, including the former...