Minister of Social Development:

What measures have been put in place to provide nutritional support to vulnerable communities;

Since 1 April 2021 the Department of Social Development has continued to provide cooked meals to 13032 vulnerable  beneficiaries across the province at 102 funded food relief sites. Food for an additional 1221 beneficiaries was added at currently funded Community Nutrition and Development Centres (CNDCs) to accommodate the increased need, bringing the total number of beneficiaries of these centres to 9733. In addition to these sources of food relief, 250 food vouchers have been dispensed to 5000 beneficiaries. The Department has also provided food ingredients and support to 415 Community-Based Kitchens across the province to reach 84556 beneficiaries with food relief. Effective from April 2021, 7828 food parcels were also delivered to beneficiaries, providing support to 31312 vulnerable family members.                                                                

whether these efforts were scaled up to meet the increased demand as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; if so, how many more beneficiaries were reached?

The measures referred to in part (1) above have all been introduced as a result of the need for additional food support in communities associated with the COVID 19 pandemic. Prior to the COVID 19 disaster declaration nutritional support by the Department of Social Development was relatively limited (reaching a total of 6 092 beneficiaries during the 2019/20 financial year) due to the fact that SASSA provided the bulk of Social Relief support in terms of its mandate in the Social Assistance Act. During the COVID 19 disaster period SASSA was unable to reach all beneficiaries in need of assistance, and the Department of Social Development therefore expanded its own food relief services as described above.