Community Activists encourage the community to start food gardens for food insecurity

Lindiwe Matshiane

Mhluzi is a suburb in Middelburg Town, under Steve Tshwete Municipality which is in the Nkangala region in Mpumalanga Province. Food security is a major concern in addressing hunger & starvation. During COVID PANDEMIC there was Food scarcity which exposed more poverty, hunger & starvation. The COVID pandemic taught us to be self-reliant in other things, hence I started with the Food garden.

This year in 2024 I planted Food in May. During winter food sometimes doesn’t grow well because it’s also cold due to climate change. As we approach summer, food plants have grown well to the extent that harvesting can be done in October/November.

Encouragement is made to people & communities to have food gardens to address food insecurity and also to be self-reliant. Having food gardens also addresses the issue of joblessness as many had lost jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic.