Surviving Janu-worry food woes

By Bongiwe Zwane-Maseko

We are all in this together. January has not even hit the halfway mark and the pinch is real.
To help families survive until payday, those in the know offer shopping basket tips that won’t break the bank.

Experts warn it will be difficult for many households to cover basic January expenses. This is at a time when emaSwati are still coming to terms with December’s overspending regrets. January has its never-ending list of responsibilities that come up, especially with children going back to school. What other better way of surviving this long month than affordable and wise shopping?
South African-based liSwati Economist Notsile Dlamini says preparing for January expenses is a tall order for the average liswati.

“People try the best they can. Low wages offer no surplus. Surplus is generated by cutting back on basic expenses. This means minimum wage earners are forced to sacrifice basic needs, but even with this sacrifice, it will be highly unlikely for them to be able to cover January expenses. Households will borrow money to try and meet January shortfalls, particularly education expenses,” she states.

Dlamini says many households living on a minimum wage will get through January with difficulty.

“There is no other way. People must eat. Families will go into deeper debt. Mothers will sacrifice their nutrition so that children have something to eat.”

A manager of one of Eswatini’s leading supermarkets acknowledges that January might not be the easiest for consumers but believes that wise shopping can truly help them. He advises that they stay away from luxury foods and focus on what is best and needed at the time.

“I say that consumers should go for basic needs first and focus on them so that they can afford stationery for the kids. It would not be wise to buy luxury foods like snacks and sweets and big-label beverages,” he explains.

He names urgent items that families need to focus on when doing grocery shopping this month, such as mealie-meal, milk, bread, vegetables, fruits, tinned food, sugar, gravy sachets, and soups.
When planning a lunch box for the kids, he advises going with the children’s preferences as well to minimise shopping items.

“Some children don’t like eggs in their sandwiches, some don’t like fish or polony, so maybe if parents could cut on those and buy the healthy items that the children prefer, then they could last this month,” he says.

The manager says when it comes to food, securing starches is likely to be the priority for many households. However, he warns that almost nothing is cheap.
“Families will have to secure basic starches, oil, sugar, and salt. Note that there is no protein.”
He shares his basic budget food grocery list:

– Maize meal
– Rice
– Cake flour
– White sugar
– Sugar beans
– Samp
– Cooking oil
– Potatoes
– Onions
– Frozen chicken pieces
– Curry powder
– Stock cubes
– Soup
– Tea
– White bread or brown bread

He says if there is any money available, households can shop for affordable vegetables and after that, eggs or cheap cuts of meat, but these will form a tiny portion of the plate.

“What is most likely is a plate of starch, with a sprinkling of vegetables or protein. Consumers would do best with gravitating towards cheaper meat portions, the likes of chicken, pork, and tinned fish. To balance it out, they should look at vegetables like cabbage, spinach, and potatoes,” he says.

He also suggests that consumers can look at different supermarkets to be able to compare prices that would be affordable to them.