WeeklySA_AdminCOLLECTIVE: Grocery stokvels already possess the organisation, trust and collective purchasing power needed to improve nutrition in low-income communities — but affordability, storage and transport constraints continue to favour processed and shelf-stable foods…
By Len Maseko
South Africa’s grocery stokvels could become powerful vehicles for improving nutrition and food security in low-income communities, according to a new University of Cape Town study.
However, their considerable collective buying power is currently directed largely towards foods chosen for affordability, quantity and shelf life rather than nutritional value.
Published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behaviour, the study examined how grocery stokvels influence food purchasing and nutrition-related decisions in Dunoon and Khayelitsha in Cape Town.
Recent data from the National Stokvel Association of South Africa (Nasasa) shows that there are over 810 000 active stokvels in South Africa, which collect an estimated R50 billion in savings annually from more than 11 million members
The researchers interviewed 20 stokvel leaders and conducted focus-group discussions with 40 members. They found that the stokvels were highly organised and socially cohesive, with established systems governing savings, decision-making and collective purchases.
The groups generally had between 10 and 30 members, each contributing from R200 to R1 500 a month. All the stokvels operated according to formal rules and agreements, while 85% imposed penalties on members who violated the rules.
Despite this organisational strength, nutrition rarely influenced purchasing decisions.
All 20 stokvels bought food in bulk, with staple foods, sugar, cooking oil and processed meats among their most common purchases.
Nineteen of the 20 groups did not explicitly consider nutrition or healthy eating when selecting food. Only one reported taking nutritional value into account.
UCT health economist Dr Akim Tafadzwa Lukwa, the study’s lead author, said stokvels already possessed many of the qualities needed to support successful nutrition programmes.
“They have trust, accountability, regular meetings, collective decision-making and, importantly, substantial purchasing power,” Lukwa said.
“The challenge is to find ways of using these existing structures to increase preference for healthier food while making them affordable and practical.”
Pooling their money allowed members to purchase larger quantities of food at prices they might not have been able to secure individually. Stokvels compared prices across retailers, negotiated discounts and, in some cases, dealt directly with supermarkets and wholesalers.
These practices helped families stretch their food supplies and cope during periods of acute financial pressure.
However, the same bulk-buying system also created obstacles to purchasing fresh and perishable food. Limited cold-storage facilities, transport costs, long distances to wholesalers and the preference for standardised grocery hampers encouraged the groups to buy products that were easier to transport and store.
As a result, fresh produce was often overlooked in favour of shelf-stable goods.
Lukwa said nutrition initiatives should work with stokvels’ existing structures instead of attempting to change the fundamental character of the groups.
Possible interventions include negotiating healthier food bundles with retailers, subsidising nutritious products and introducing brief nutrition discussions during regular stokvel meetings.
WhatsApp groups could also be used to distribute recipes, meal-planning advice and information about affordable, healthy food.
“The idea is not to change what stokvels are or to impose an external agenda on them,” Lukwa said.
“Nutrition-sensitive interventions would need to fit into existing practices and priorities, while giving members practical options that make healthier purchasing possible within their budgets.”
The study also found that grocery stokvels were predominantly led by women. Women headed 95% of the groups examined, many of which placed a strong emphasis on household responsibility, reliability and mutual support.
Researchers believe this social cohesion could provide a strong foundation for improving dietary diversity, food literacy and healthy meal planning.
They cautioned, however, that stokvels should not be regarded as a universal answer to food insecurity. Some groups deliberately excluded younger people and those with irregular incomes because they prioritised financial reliability.
Consequently, some of the people most vulnerable to hunger and poor nutrition might not belong to a stokvel.
“Stokvels should be seen as a complementary platform rather than a replacement for broader food security and public health programmes,” Lukwa said. “Any intervention needs to consider who is reached through these groups and who may be left out.”
The study recommends pilot projects offering short nutrition sessions at stokvel meetings, retailer-supported healthy-food bundles and nutrition messages distributed through WhatsApp.
These approaches are now being tested through the researchers’ ROSCAs4FS project. The feasibility trial combines nutrition-education modules with retailer-supported food bundles provided through vouchers and health information delivered through WhatsApp and SMS.
Researchers will assess whether the interventions can improve food purchasing and dietary diversity without deepening existing inequalities in access to healthy food.
