Food assistance and cash grants during the early COVID-19 waves: insights from South African experiences

To mitigate the effects of the COVID-19-induced lockdowns, South African authorities launched a suite of livelihood protections towards mid-2020 with an emphasis on food parcels, food vouchers, and expanding cash transfers. In the context of the traditional cash transfers versus food assistance trade-off in social protection studies, this chapter examines the extent to which food assistance reached the intended recipients during the early waves of COVID-19 in South Africa, when food insecurity gained prominence. In addition to demographic and subjective behavioural factors, the analysis, based on a logit regression and odds ratios, quantifies the effects of socio-economic, information access, institutional, and location variables on the receipt of food relief. The province of residence was associated with the odds of receiving food assistance for the average recipient. Other impediments to food relief were long lines at food handout outlets, reliance on mass media to communicate the availability of food, and the operations of social assistance agencies. The results underscore the urgency for institutional preparedness and agility in the provision of appropriate food relief in similar crises.