It’s the festive season, and thoughts are dominated by time off, the beach, family time and then… back to school after the hangover of New Year’s Eve.
However, it’s not the way that everyone experiences the season to be jolly. In fact, many never get to smile or have a full stomach when they return to school, said Ladles of Love founder Danny Dilberto.
The organisation has launched an urgent appeal to fellow South Africans to assist some of our less fortunate co-citizens. The campaign, titled Christmastime, Ready for Grade 1, asks South Africans to contribute R300 per month to provide two nutritious meals a day for one child at school throughout 2026.
“For every child you feed, you secure a future, not just for that child, but for all of us,” Dilberto said.
Several hundred thousand children will enter classrooms in January, he said. For many, the first day of school is also the first day they realise they are already behind. The broader data paints a dark picture, said Dilberto.
Data compiled by Ladles of Love showed that, according to UNICEF, 23% of South African children live in severe child food poverty and are at risk of life-threatening malnutrition. Nearly 40% of children under six live in households below the food poverty line. In 2022 and 2023 alone, 15 000 children were hospitalised for severe acute malnutrition, a 33% increase compared with 2020.
Malnutrition stunts growth
Diliberto said the situation is increasingly urgent.
“We are feeding 9 000 children and teachers today without secure funding for most of them,” he said. “At the same time, there are 3 000 more children who could start Grade 1 ready to learn if we can reach them now. Every one of these 12 000 children needs a committed sponsor.”
He said that South Africa’s child malnutrition crisis remains a gigantic challenge. More than 1.5 million children under the age of five, roughly one in four, are stunted due to chronic undernutrition.
According to Ladles of Love, despite two decades of government policy focus, national rates have not meaningfully declined. The first 1 000 days of a child’s life are critical for brain development, and once that window closes, the effects are often permanent.
Also Read: Getting ready for Grade 1: What every parent should know
The impact of malnutrition is visible at the preschool level.
Monica November, principal of Hope of Africa Preschool in Delft, Western Cape, said many children arrived at the school physically frail and undernourished.
“Academically, their progress was slow,” she said. The school joined the Ladles of Love Nourish Our Children programme, and, she said, the impact of a sated appetite on a desire for learning and an ability to learn has been exceptional.
“Nourishment sees children gaining weight and height, attending school more regularly, falling ill less often and showing marked improvements in concentration, confidence and learning,” she said.
Long-term consequences may be dire
At the opposite end, Dilberto shared, the long-term consequences of sustained malnutrition are well documented. Children who are stunted are more likely to start school with developmental delays, struggle academically and face higher unemployment rates as adults.
Early learning programmes with feeding components, he said, have proven to be a critical intervention. Children attending these programmes show a stunting rate of just 5.7%, compared with 15.6% in the general population.
Around 90% of such programmes provide at least one meal a day, making them a vital source of nutrition and health support. While access to early childhood development has improved significantly, with 60.2% of children aged zero to four attending programmes in 2022 compared with just 12.2% in 2001, large gaps remain, he said.
Nearly 40% of two-year-olds and more than a quarter of three-year-olds are still missing out on early learning entirely.
“The difference between a child who is ready for Grade 1 and one who does not often comes down to something as basic as a meal,” said Yolanda Jones, programme manager at Ladles of Love.
“School readiness is not about new uniforms or backpacks. It is about whether a child’s brain has been properly nourished to support focus, memory and healthy growth.”
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