The Effects of School Feeding Programmes in Addressing Food Insecurity in the Mutale Municipality of Vhembe District, Limpopo Province in South Africa

This study focused on the effects of the school feeding programmes in addressing food insecurity in Mutale Municipality of Vhembe District, Limpopo Province. School feeding programmes provided by the government to try and alleviate the scourge of food insecurity in Mutale Municipality were investigated. The study openly delineated various factors contributed to the ruthless chronic food insecurity which ravaged many families in rural areas. On the theoretical framework, the research enfolded Capability theory and Entitlement approach as the foundational basis of the study. The qualitative approach was used to ensure an in-depth understanding of the phenomena under study, in particular to understand the contribution of school feeding programmes as a right based in-kind social safety net implemented by the government in addressing the discourse of food insecurity on a rural setting. d Quota sampling in the selection of respondents. The researcher gathered data through the use of interviews, non-participant observation and document analysis. The findings of this study were analysed by organizing the data and presented it in a descriptive manner.
The study analysed food security results amassed by the community members from the provision of food at schools. However, the findings of this study revealed that the feeding scheme, though it possess pronounced potential to eradicate food insecurity, slightly changed the susceptibility of the community members. The feeding scheme marginally created employment, reduced poverty, reduced hunger and increased health and nutrition education among the community members. The program achieved minimal results as it confronted implementation constraints which ruined its capacity to exterminate rural food insecurity. The current food procurement model excluded the needs of the community in terms of the provision of a stable means of acquiring adequate nutritional food, therefore operational state hindered the impact of the program as a way of addressing food insecurity.