How one South African entrepreneur is tackling soaring food prices

As food prices continue to climb, one South African entrepreneur is putting a cape on to help fight the scourge.

About a fifth of South Africans go to bed hungry each night.

The fight against hunger remains urgent.

Although food security in South Africa has improved slightly, with the Shoprite’s Food Security Index has risen from 44.9 in 2023 to 56.4 in 2024, hunger persists.

Still Good, a social enterprise launched in May, is doing its best to help shoppers cut their grocery bills by nearly R4 million in just six months, while also reducing food waste costs for retailers.

The company connects shoppers with discounted groceries approaching their sell-by dates that retailers would otherwise throw away or donate.

Operating in more than 80 Pick n Pay, Spar and Food Lovers Market stores, along with several independents nationwide, Still Good sells “Value Bags” of groceries at up to 65% off.

“We’re helping South Africans beat food price inflation over the past six years,” said CEO Steffen Burrows.

“Some stores sell 50 bags in two minutes – we can’t keep up with demand.”

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Each Value Bag has a mix of items such as fresh produce, bakery goods and dry groceries. Meat and deli products are excluded for food safety reasons.

Shoppers order via Still Good’s web platform, pay through Yoco, and collect in-store later in the day. One Cape Town customer has saved more than R40 000 in six months.

Johannesburg resident Chanté-Leigh Hendricks said her family looks forward to unpacking each bag. “It’s like a lucky packet for grown-ups. We’ve learned to cook with whatever we get and waste nothing,” she said.

Still Good donates 10% of its earnings to SA Harvest and other food banks.

“Previously, much of this stock went to landfill, was used as animal feed, or donated to charities,” said Burrows.

“We saw an opportunity to make it accessible to the public and reduce waste.”

Research commissioned by the Shoprite Group shows that, while 80.8% of households consume more than six food groups, almost 20% still eat too few.

The Free State fared worst, with nearly half of its residents eating three or fewer food groups.

Shoprite Group chief sustainability officer Sanjeev Raghubir said that “food security is one of the defining challenges of our time. Hunger will only be defeated if business, government and civil society work together.”

Shoprite reported that it contained internal food inflation to 2.3% in its 2025 financial year and has delivered R55 billion in instant savings through its Xtra Savings rewards programme since 2019.

Pick n Pay has said it is currently keeping its average price increases to 2.1% in the same period, which is well below the national food inflation rate of 5.2% year-on-year as of August.

Despite these efforts, millions still struggle.

According to FinMark, about 12 million adults in South Africa are having difficulty meeting basic needs, while the cost of a basic food basket for a family of four now stands at around R3 690, according to the September Household Affordability Index.