Let’s close the food gap
Find out how YOU can support this campaign at home
We call on businesses and government to make nutritious food cheaper for poorer families
One in five South African households don’t have enough food on the table, and times are getting tougher for poorer families.
The consequence is a generation of children unable to reach their full potential, because if they don’t grow well, they can’t learn well.
We need to act now! So, DGMT and Grow Great are championing a bold new proposal to make 10 nutritious foods cheaper for poorer families – we call them our 10 best buys.
These items are eggs, dried beans and lentils, tinned fish, fortified maize meal, peanut butter, rice, amasi, soya mince, 4-in-1 soup mix, and powdered full cream milk – many are already staple pantry items in South African households.
We want food manufacturers and retailers to waive the mark-ups of at least one product label of each of the 10 best buys. And, we want government to support this by agreeing to provide a rebate to retailers and manufacturers, matching the value of their discount on the 10 best buys. If this proposal is accepted and implemented, these foods will be at least 30% cheaper.

Child nutrition must be the number one issue ahead of the 2024 general elections
We call on the government, food producers, wholesalers and retailers to stand in solidarity with South African families to close the food gap.
To get more people behind this campaign, we put up billboards all over the country to make child nutrition a national priority for public health, education and economic growth.
Children need nutritious food for their bodies and minds to grow and develop, especially in the first thousand days of life when their brains are developing faster than ever. Children who do not get the food they need to grow well may end up stunted, which means they are too short for their age and their brain development may be affected. Stunted children are more likely to drop out of school, struggle to find employment and live in poverty as adults.
One in four children aged five and younger in this country are stunted, according to the last national health survey in 2016. Although recent community and provincial surveys suggest modest declines in stunting since then, the rate is still far too high.

Here’s how YOU can support this campaign at home
You can do your part by raising awareness about the 10 best buys so that more people know about them and can prepare nutritious meals at home.
You can learn more about the 10 best buys by sending a WhatsApp message to 060 073 3333. You will find information and recipes when you contact Grow Great on WhatsApp.
And finally, if you want to show your support for this campaign, please download and share the campaign material on social media with your friends, family and networks.
Click on the image or video you want, save it or download it to your phone or computer and share it on social media using the hashtags
#LetsCloseTheFoodGap and #10BestBuys.
We also added a short blurb that you can use for context in your posts.

Children who don’t get the nutritious food they need to grow well are likely to struggle in school and even drop out. The consequence is successive generations of children unable to reach their full potential. #LetsCloseTheFoodGap #10BestBuys
‘I vote for food’ is a challenge to every political party to respond to the growing food crisis in South Africa and ensure that household food security is a central objective of every election manifesto. #LetsCloseTheFoodGap #10BestBuys
What’s the link between child malnutrition and our economy? When children GROW well, they LEARN well and DO well. Today’s little ones are our country’s future! #LetsCloseTheFoodGap #10BestBuys
Children who don’t get the nutritious food they need to grow well are likely to struggle in school and even drop out. The consequence is successive generations of children unable to reach their full potential. #LetsCloseTheFoodGap #10BestBuys
‘I vote for food’ is a challenge to every political party to respond to the growing food crisis in South Africa and ensure that household food security is a central objective of every election manifesto. #LetsCloseTheFoodGap #10BestBuys
What’s the link between child malnutrition and our economy? When children GROW well, they LEARN well and DO well. Today’s little ones are our country’s future! #LetsCloseTheFoodGap #10BestBuys
Children who don’t get the nutritious food they need to grow well are likely to struggle in school and even drop out. The consequence is successive generations of children unable to reach their full potential. #LetsCloseTheFoodGap #10BestBuys
‘I vote for food’ is a challenge to every political party to respond to the growing food crisis in South Africa and ensure that household food security is a central objective of every election manifesto. #LetsCloseTheFoodGap #10BestBuys
What’s the link between child malnutrition and our economy? When children GROW well, they LEARN well and DO well. Today’s little ones are our country’s future! #LetsCloseTheFoodGap #10BestBuys
Children who don’t get the nutritious food they need to grow well are likely to struggle in school and even drop out. The consequence is successive generations of children unable to reach their full potential. #LetsCloseTheFoodGap #10BestBuys
‘I vote for food’ is a challenge to every political party to respond to the growing food crisis in South Africa and ensure that household food security is a central objective of every election manifesto. #LetsCloseTheFoodGap #10BestBuys
What’s the link between child malnutrition and our economy? When children GROW well, they LEARN well and DO well. Today’s little ones are our country’s future! #LetsCloseTheFoodGap #10BestBuys
TikToc
Children who don’t get the nutritious food they need to grow well are likely to struggle in school and even drop out. The consequence is successive generations of children unable to reach their full potential. #LetsCloseTheFoodGap #10BestBuys
‘I vote for food’ is a challenge to every political party to respond to the growing food crisis in South Africa and ensure that household food security is a central objective of every election manifesto. #LetsCloseTheFoodGap #10BestBuys
What’s the link between child malnutrition and our economy? When children GROW well, they LEARN well and DO well. Today’s little ones are our country’s future! #LetsCloseTheFoodGap #10BestBuys
Videos
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Children who don’t get the nutritious food they need to grow well are likely to struggle in school and even drop out. The consequence is successive generations of children unable to reach their full potential. #LetsCloseTheFoodGap #10BestBuys
Choose a download size:
‘I vote for food’ is a challenge to every political party to respond to the growing food crisis in South Africa and ensure that household food security is a central objective of every election manifesto. #LetsCloseTheFoodGap #10BestBuys
Choose a download size:
What’s the link between child malnutrition and our economy? When children GROW well, they LEARN well and DO well. Today’s little ones are our country’s future! #LetsCloseTheFoodGap #10BestBuys
Best Buys
Share the WhatsApp number (060 073 3333) with your friends and family