{"id":643659,"date":"2026-08-18T13:50:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T13:50:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/643659\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T13:50:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T13:50:09","slug":"could-stokvels-help-south-africans-eat-healthier-uct-study-says-yes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/643659\/","title":{"rendered":"Could stokvels help South Africans eat healthier? UCT study says yes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Story audio is generated using AI<\/p>\n

South Africa\u2019s stokvels<\/a> could play a bigger role in helping low-income households eat healthier, but researchers have found that their buying power is currently being used mainly to stretch food budgets rather than improve nutrition.<\/p>\n

A University of Cape Town (UCT) study found that while grocery stokvels help families buy food in bulk and at better prices, most groups prioritise affordability, quantity and shelf life over nutritional value.<\/p>\n

The study, published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behaviour, looked at 20 grocery stokvels in Dunoon and Khayelitsha in Cape Town. Researchers interviewed 20 stokvel leaders and held focus group discussions with 40 members.<\/p>\n

The groups generally had between 10 and 30 members who contributed between R200 and R1,500 a month. All the stokvels operated under formal constitutions, while 85% had penalties for members who broke the rules.<\/p>\n

The researchers found that bulk buying was common across all 20 stokvels, with staple foods, sugar and processed meats making up much of the shopping.<\/p>\n

In 19 of the 20 groups, or 95%, there was no explicit consideration of nutrition or diet quality when food was bought. Only one group considered nutritional value.<\/p>\n

The study found that members often chose food that would keep for longer and provide enough to feed their families, rather than food based on its nutritional value.<\/p>\n

This was partly because many stokvels had limited cold storage and faced transport costs and long distances to wholesalers. These practical challenges made fresh and perishable foods harder to buy and store.<\/p>\n

But researchers say the systems that make stokvels<\/a> successful could also be used to encourage healthier choices.<\/p>\n

\u201cStokvels already have many of the characteristics that are needed to support a successful nutrition intervention,\u201d said UCT health economist Dr Akim Tafadzwa Lukwa, the study\u2019s lead author.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have trust, accountability, regular meetings, collective decision-making and, importantly, substantial purchasing power. The challenge is to find ways of using these existing structures to increase preference for healthier food while making them affordable and practical.\u201d<\/p>\n

The study found that stokvels already compare prices, negotiate discounts and work with retailers or wholesalers to get better deals. Pooling money allows members to buy quantities of food that would often be difficult to afford individually.<\/p>\n

The researchers believe this power could be used to create healthier food bundles, offer discounts on nutritious products and introduce short nutrition discussions during regular stokvel meetings.<\/p>\n

WhatsApp groups could also be used to share recipes, meal-planning advice and information about affordable healthy food.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea is not to change what stokvels are or to impose an external agenda on them,\u201d said Lukwa. <\/p>\n

Nutrition-sensitive interventions would need to fit into existing practices and priorities, while giving members practical options that make healthier purchasing possible within their budgets.\u201d<\/p>\n

The study, which confirmed that stokvels were predominantly women-led with 95% of the groups led by women, said the strong social ties within the groups could provide a useful foundation for discussions about healthy eating and meal planning.<\/p>\n

However, the researchers warned that stokvels should not be seen as a solution for everyone facing food insecurity.<\/p>\n

Some stokvel groups prefer older, married women with established households and may exclude younger people or those with irregular incomes. This means some of the people most vulnerable to food insecurity may not belong to a stokvel.<\/p>\n

\u201cStokvels should be seen as a complementary platform rather than a replacement for broader food security and public health programmes,\u201d said Lukwa.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny intervention needs to consider who is reached through these groups and who may be left out.\u201d<\/p>\n

The researchers recommend testing simple interventions such as short nutrition sessions at stokvel meetings, retailer-supported healthy food bundles and nutrition messaging through WhatsApp. The study notes that these approaches should be tested to see whether they improve dietary diversity and purchasing behaviour without increasing existing inequalities.<\/p>\n

Lukwa said the recommendation is already being put into practice through the ROSCAs4FS project, a feasibility trial testing nutrition education during stokvel meetings, healthy food bundles supported by financial vouchers, and nutrition messaging through WhatsApp and SMS.<\/p>\n

The researchers said the goal is not to take away what stokvels already do well, but to use their collective strength to help families get food that is both affordable and healthier.<\/p>\n

TimesLIVE<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Story audio is generated using AI South Africa\u2019s stokvels could play a bigger role in helping low-income households…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":643660,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[277],"tags":[272392,272393,2675,18,272390,135,1767,272391,19,17,60979,6431,508,272389],"class_list":["post-643659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nutrition","tag-bulk-buying-groceries","tag-community-food-security","tag-diabetes","tag-eire","tag-food-budgets","tag-health","tag-healthy-eating","tag-healthy-eating-low-income","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-lifestyle-diseases","tag-nutrients","tag-nutrition","tag-stokvel"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117116838105210944","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/643659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=643659"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/643659\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/643660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=643659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=643659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=643659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}