Hunger and Poverty in South Africa: The Hidden Faces of Food Insecurity

215 Pages·2018·1.32 MB·English

by  Jacqueline Hanoman

Hunger and Poverty
in South Africa
Hunger and Poverty in South Africa: The Hidden Faces of Food Insecurity
explores food insecurity as an issue of socioeconomic, political, cultural and
environmental inequity and inequality. Based on extensive original research in
Free State Province, South Africa, the book explores how people living in poverty
make meaning of their food circumstances within the sociocultural, political and
economic contexts of post-apartheid South Africa, how they view the govern-
ment’s food security policies and programs and their perceived agency to affect
change.
The personal narratives contained in the book show that food insecurity is
shaped by many issues, among which are structural poverty, racism, attempts or
non-attempts at reconciliation during and after apartheid, public health issues,
such as HIV/AIDS, and environmental circumstances. At a time when most dis-
course around food insecurity focuses on how to provide more food to people
facing hunger, this book’s multidimensional approach is a valuable contribution
to the contemporary dialogue on poverty, food security/insecurity, sustainability
and democratic agency both within South Africa and around the world.
This book will be of interest to researchers in the areas of food security, multi-
dimensional poverty, democratic agency and sustainable development, both in
South Africa and internationally.
Jacqueline Hanoman is a sociologist, qualitative researcher and educator with a
PhD in Cultural Foundations from Purdue University, USA. Her areas of interest
include narrative inquiry, multidimensional poverty and social justice, food inse-
curity and public health issues, critical community education and development
for sustainability.
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Hunger and Poverty in South Africa
The Hidden Faces of Food Insecurity
Jacqueline Hanoman
Hunger and Poverty
in South Africa
The Hidden Faces of Food Insecurity
Jacqueline Hanoman
First published 2018
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa
business
© 2018 Jacqueline Hanoman
The right of Jacqueline Hanoman to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978-1-138-22308-0 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-40606-0 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
To the people of the Free State Province, South Africa. May your
kindness and generosity toward me extend toward each other, to live
together and help each other make this province that is your home
blossom into its human greatness.
To John, my husband, without whom this dream of doing meaningful
work in South Africa would never have become possible. Thank you
for South Africa and for all your support every step of the way. To
my mother, Matilde, for always believing in me and for sharing this
adventure, and to my father, Eon, I wish you were here to see this
dream come true. To our son, Isaac, for being the wonderful young
man he is and for sharing the last part of this adventure with me with
great patience.

Contents
List of tables viii
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction 1
1 The hidden faces of poverty 7
2 South Africa and the Free State Province: history, society,
race and food 19
3 The city and the townships 47
4 Poverty and hope in the city 96
5 Food insecurity and food initiatives beyond the city 123
6 It is never only about food: power, critical consciousness
and survival within poverty 156
Appendix: notes and methods 186
Index 198
Tables
3.1 Comparative Demographics Free State – Mangaung
Metropolitan Municipality – Bloemfontein 54
3.2 Participants’ demographics: Bloemfontein and its townships 60
4.1 Participants’ demographics: The city 98
5.1 Comparative Demographics Free State – Mangaung
Metropolitan Municipality – Botshabelo 124
5.2 Comparative Demographics Free State – Maluti- a- Phofung
Municipality 134
5.3 Comparative Demographics Free State – Maluti- a- Phofung
Municipality- Harrismith 145
Acknowledgements
This book would have never come into being if it had not been for the numerous
people in South Africa who helped me out of the kindness of their hearts. I was
very fortunate to do my study in the Free State, where I met the most marvelous
people who helped me in every way they could. Where can I begin to thank you
all? To all the co-creators of this book, thank you for sharing your lives, dreams
and hopes with me. I will never forget you, and I hope that my work will help
you. I am particularly grateful to Rindi Gordon, who took me under her wing,
then, in a whirlwind, took me around Bloemfontein to meet a number of people,
see different places and always kept an eye on me while she was there. I would
never have been able to carry out much of my research without her help. Thank
you so much, Rindi. To Julia and Pulani, who opened their hearts to me and let
me into their lives. Ke a leboha Motswalle! To all the wonderful friends at the
Christian organization who always made me feel welcome with their smiles and
gentleness. To my friends at the Faculty of Education of the University of the Free
State who welcomed me so wonderfully and always made me feel at home, Thank
you! Baie Dankie! Ke a leboha! To Molebatsi for his encouragement, and my
deepest appreciation to Dipane, who took time out of his busy schedule to work
with me. To my Vriendin Adré for our times of ‘koek en tee’ in which we chatted
endlessly and for motivating me on my path to learning Afrikaans, and to Phia,
my companion and friend in the painstaking labor of doing research and talking
about life. You are all more than my friends; you are my South African family and
I will never forget your kindness. To Busi, Sister Electa and Nohlanhla for their
patience and generosity in taking the time to share their work in the communities
with me. To Professor Corinna Walsh and Dr. Louise van den Berg, who gener-
ously shared their research with me, and Dr. Lucia Meko for helping me to carry
out my research in Phase 9. Thank you all for your kindness.