How one food stokvel helps 45 North West families fight hunger

Every month, Mapiti Seleka sets aside her unemployment grant of R370, confident that by contributing to the Reabetswe Food Stokvel, she will have the means to provide food for her family. She is one of 45 members in Tsetse Village outside Mafikeng, all belonging to this community savings group that helps them buy groceries in bulk, manage limited incomes, and ensure food security.

The 41-year-old mother of a six-year-old daughter is unemployed but married, and her family relies on the stokvel to stretch their limited resources. Seleka says the stokvel has transformed their holiday shopping. "Now in December we can also buy juice, biscuits and meat. Before the stokvel, December was just pap and hope."

The stokvel was founded three years ago by Seleka and her neighbours, Kedisaletse Molefe and Katlego Malgas, who were unhappy with the management of a previous food stokvel and the lack of toiletries and snacks. They started their own, which in 2023 grew to include 45 members. Each month, members contribute R370 towards groceries, meat, and snacks, allowing the group to purchase food in bulk and alleviate financial strain during expensive periods.

Members report that the stokvel enables them to enjoy special meals during December holidays, store leftovers for January, and even extend their food supply for several months. Seleka, now debt-free at the start of each year, emphasizes the importance of this support network. Stokvels are a significant part of South Africa’s informal economy, with over 800,000 groups and 11 million members nationwide, moving more than R50-billion annually, according to the National Stokvel Association of South Africa (NASASA).

Grocery-focused stokvels are the most common, offering members the ability to buy food at lower prices and share costs, though researchers note that affordability often comes at the expense of nutritional value.