As South African schools and early learning centres close for the summer holidays, thousands of children face increased risks of hunger and unsafe environments. Community organisations are stepping in with food distributions and safe spaces to support vulnerable families during the festive season. Experts highlight the need for broader interventions to address ongoing food insecurity.
The closure of schools and early childhood development (ECD) centres over the December holidays has left many children without access to daily meals and supervised play areas. Professor Eric Atmore, director of the Centre for Early Childhood Development, noted that the ECD Census 2021 recorded over 1.6 million children enrolled in such programmes nationwide. He estimated 400,000 to 500,000 of them are food insecure, drawing from UNICEF data showing 23% of South African children in severe food poverty.
"Our concern with the ECD centres not operating is that those children are going to be highly vulnerable to hunger during the school holidays, because often their parents can’t replace what the ECD centre provides," Atmore said.
In Khayelitsha, Cape Town, the Khumbulani Health, Education and Resource Centre typically cares for 297 children aged six months to six years. Project coordinator Anathi Katsi Katsi described the holiday shutdown as particularly tough for working parents and the unemployed. "We’re thinking of those vulnerable children who are being exposed to the lifestyles of the holidays at this moment, and those who have nothing on their tables," she said, adding that many attend for nutrition and psychosocial support.
To bridge the gap, Khumbulani operates a soup kitchen on Tuesdays and Thursdays, attracting children from its aftercare programme. Leaders aim to launch a future holiday programme for relief.
Safety concerns extend beyond food. Nkosikhona Swartbooi of the Right to Play Campaign pointed to the lack of safe play spaces in communities like Khayelitsha, where children often play in streets. "There’s that mismatch in terms of the safety for kids in schools and the safety for kids at home," he said, noting risks in poor, working-class areas.
In rural regions, the Rural and Farmworkers Development Organisation (RUFADO) reports heightened food insecurity during the festive period. Founder Billy Claasen explained that school closures exacerbate pressures on low-income households, increasing exposure to accidents, substance abuse and exploitation. RUFADO's Christmas project delivers food parcels, hygiene packs and community activities to at-risk families.
Nationwide efforts include Daily Maverick and SA Harvest's Eastern Cape campaign, FoodForward South Africa's Festive Food Boxes, Ladles of Love's Cape Town soup kitchen, The Hope Exchange's meal programme for the homeless, Operation Antifreeze's hampers in Ekurhuleni, and holiday routines at Place of Mercy and Hope with Lwazi Educare in the Eastern Cape.
Atmore urged community vigilance: "This concept of ‘your child is my child’ becomes so much more important at this time." Claasen called for multi-sector partnerships to tackle structural poverty, while University of Cape Town's Lori Lake advocated raising the Child Support Grant to combat year-round undernutrition.