Social Development

1. (a) Community Nutrition and Development Centres (CNDCs) serve a dual purpose: they provide immediate relief to address hunger in vulnerable communities while also implementing development and income-generating programmes that enhance self-reliance, resilience and sustainable response to food insecurity. The programme’s allocated budget supports both food provision and development activities. While a large percentage of the budget is directed towards ensuring consistent provision of nutritious meals, allocations are also made towards implementation of complementary community development initiatives, community and household food gardens, skills and income generating projects as well as livelihoods support through work opportunities, to promote self-reliance and community resilience.

This dual investment allows CNDCs to respond to immediate hunger while gradually fostering sustainable, multi-layered solutions to food insecurity, highlighting the opportunity to further strengthen development initiatives through increased resource allocation.

CNDCs are established in communities identified as food insecure and socio-economically vulnerable. Selection is based on data from the General Household Food Survey (GHFS), quarterly Non-financial Data (NFD) submitted by NPOs providing food relief services, referrals from regions, municipalities and health clinics from the Department of Health and Wellness. Furthermore, considerations also include the presence of a capable Non-Profit Organisation, accessibility to target beneficiaries and availability of basic infrastructure to support meal preparation and storage.

(b) The Department adheres to CNDCs Norms and Standards, which provide guidance on minimum operational requirements to ensure food safety and quality assurance, occupational health and safe working environments. All CNDCs are required to comply with prescribed menus developed on consultation with the Department of Health and Wellness to ensure balanced and nutritious meals.

Regular monitoring and unannounced visits are conducted to assess hygiene practices, food storage and meal preparation conditions. CNDC staff, cooks in particular, receive training in food handling, hygiene and occupational safety to maintain compliance with national regulations and CNDC norms and standards.

For the current financial year 2025-26, a total budget of R49 056 000 has been committed to sustain CNDC and community kitchens operations, inclusive food procurement for cooked meals and food parcels, work opportunities (cooks and programme officers), Sustainable Livelihoods Skills and income generating projects, Norms and Standards and operational costs.

(c)(i) Community members are integral to CNDC operations particularly in ensuring safety from criminal behaviour, (e.g. extortions and theft) by engaging in constructive dialogues with key community structures and at time criminal themselves to foster a better understanding of the role of CNDCs and the benefit for communities. Additionally, the involvement of community members promotes local ownership, accountability and responsiveness to the needs of the community.

(ii) Implementing organisations manage day-to-day CNDC operations, including financial management, procurement of food items, beneficiary registers and compliance with programme guidelines and Transfer Payment Agreements. The programme provides oversight, capacity building and technical advisory support and monitoring to ensure accountability and compliance.

CNDC operations also create work and income generating opportunities in food preparation and administration by employing cooks and programme officers.

In this financial year 2025-26, 266 Work opportunities have been created at CNDCs (Cooks and Programme officers). 90% of these work opportunities are held by women, a deliberate effort to ensure women’s empowerment and emancipation, as they are the backbone of family and community well-being. Furthermore, these opportunities strengthen livelihoods while enabling participation in development and income generating projects, which are funded alongside food provision within the allocated budget.

In Q1 of the current financial year, the CNDCs and community kitchens have collectively reached about 22 117 beneficiaries per month (non-cumulative), providing access to daily nutritious meals for 5 days per week, throughout the year and complementary development initiatives to promote well-being and improve resilience.

(d)(i) The Department through the Sustainable Livelihoods Programme currently provides funding support to 55 Non-Profit Organisations, managing 102 CNDCs, 65 Community kitchens and 17 Feeding sites. The CNDCs form part of the Departments integrated response to food insecurity. CNDCs provide daily nutritious meals to vulnerable individuals and households, including out- of school children and persons with disabilities.

CNDCs are strategically located across all six (6) regions of the province in communities with the highest levels of poverty and food insecurity, ensuring equitable geographic coverage and accessibility for vulnerable households.

(ii) The detailed grid in “Annexure A” attached outlines the following: Number of operational CNDCs, Service delivery areas and Number of beneficiaries supported to access daily nutritious meals: Annexure A- Sustainable Livelihoods Database of funded NPOs 2025/2026.

(e) The Programme collaborates with multiple stakeholders, including local municipalities. Some of its collaborative partners include the Department of Agriculture, Rural and Land Reform, Department of Health and Wellness, Academia, and Non-profit Organisations. These collaborations contribute towards sustainability and provision of a multi-layered response to food insecurity at CNDCs.

(f) Individual and households are referred to CNDCs through the DSD regions and health clinics. Eligibility is determined through an assessment and profiling, i.e. beneficiary or household profiling which considers the socio-economic vulnerability including food insecurity.  Each CNDC maintain a verified beneficiary register to ensure that support reaches those most in need. 

2. In response to persistent household food insecurity and in alignment with the national Food and Nutrition Security Strategy, the Department through the Sustainable Livelihoods Programme continues to prioritise and explore expansion opportunities to expand coverage in areas found to have high levels of food insecurity and poverty.

Furthermore, expansion priorities are guided by the provincial hunger and food insecurity indicators through monitoring and assessment of the data collection instruments such as the general Household Survey (GHS), quarterly Non-Financial Data (NFD) from Funded NPOs-CNDCs on the number of beneficiaries accessing food relief services and Regional Referrals of persons experiencing undue hardship and in need of food relief services.

Expansion will be pursued subject to budget availability and resource mobilisation, including partnerships with municipalities, the private sector and NPOs to strengthen community -based food insecurity interventions.