I’ve just seen a piece of e-TV that says that the Western Cape Social Development Department is cutting funding to Soup Kitchens and making receipt of meals dependent on doing some kind of community service. Apparently the number of provincially supported Soup Kitchens has gone from 36 to 12 in the Heideveld/Manenberg area in the last year.

I understand that resources are scarce and that dependency culture can be a problem, but to cut soup kitchens at a time when food, fuel and electricity prices are sky-rocketing, and resultantly more and more households are falling into food insecurity, just seems deeply wrong.

The MEC said that the most vulnerable will still be able to access free meals, but will have to register. I am not sure that the most vulnerable will get access.

I worry we are going to see increasing dependence on stopgap emergency charitable food distribution when the State rolls back. What worries me is that we see that households falling into food insecurity depend on friends, family and neighbours for food and often do not have access to charitable organisations.

James 2:15-16: Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?

(Self-righteous) Indignation expressed: I’m off to scour the PGWC website to find what I can on the facts of this case