Migrant Food Networks, Cultural Identity, and Food Sovereignty in South Africa

Migration is more than moving across borders. It involves carrying homes, memories, and survival strategies. For many African migrants living in South Africa—especially in major urban hubs like Johannesburg, Cape Town, and other cities—food becomes a lifeline. Through transnational food networks, migrants maintain ties to their homelands, preserve cultural identity, and assert food sovereignty in environments often shaped by precarious lives, discrimination, and structural barriers. Yet, these networks also reveal deep inequities, policy gaps, and the urgent need for systemic change.

This post explores how transnational food flows influence food sovereignty and cultural identity among African migrants in South Africa. It highlights policy gaps, structural constraints, and evidence-based solutions to strengthen inclusive urban food systems.

Migrants, Food Insecurity, and the Longing for “Home Food”

In 2025, a study led by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) revealed a paradox among Johannesburg’s migrant residents. Many migrants longed for traditional leafy greens and fruits they grew up eating. However, they often could not access them due to patchy supply chains, high prices, and fading culinary knowledge (HSRC, 2025).

Meanwhile, estimates suggest that 34–40% of households in the City of Johannesburg remain food insecure, a significant proportion of which includes both internal and international migrants (NU-BAKF, 2024).

Consider the case of a 32-year-old woman from Zimbabwe (name withheld), now living in Soweto South. She pays rent in an overcrowded room, works in the informal economy, and supports relatives back home. She misses the leafy greens her mother cooked but cannot afford them regularly. Consequently, she substitutes with cheaper, processed foods. Her story reflects both the erosion of cultural dietary practices and the struggle for nutritional dignity.

Conceptual Foundations: Food Sovereignty and Foodscapes

Understanding these dynamics requires two conceptual frameworks:

Food sovereignty emphasizes people’s right to define their food systems. It focuses on access to culturally appropriate, nutritious food and control over production, distribution, and consumption (Biowatch South Africa).
Foodscapes describe the spatial and social environment in which food is produced, exchanged, and consumed. For migrants, foodscapes represent not just nourishment but also cultural belonging, memory, and social networks (Springer, 2024).

Through cross-border trade, remittances, migrant-run food shops, and informal markets, migrants assert agency over their food environments. These networks help maintain cultural identity and offer partial food sovereignty. However, structural barriers often limit their effectiveness.

Evidence from South Africa: What Research Shows

Rural–Urban Links and Food Remittances

Research from the MiFOOD Network highlights the persistence of rural–urban ties post-apartheid. Many migrants maintain circular migration patterns, send remittances, and participate in material flows between urban and rural areas (MiFOOD, 2023).

These flows are not only financial. Migrants often remit food or food-focused supplies. Such remittances act as informal social safety nets, reducing hunger in origin communities (Springer, 2024).

However, this creates a structural inequality. Migrants frequently support extended kin while struggling economically in South Africa. As a result, they remain embedded in intertwined systems of food insecurity across borders.

Dietary Changes and Urban Nutrition

Migration and urbanization strongly influence dietary patterns. Data from the Migrant Health Follow-Up Study (MHFUS) show that migrants often consume more processed foods alongside fruits and vegetables, depending on their urban destination (PubMed, 2025).

Urban migrants rely heavily on cash-based food economies. A Johannesburg study found that cross-border migrants were more likely to remit food than internal migrants (30% vs. 6%), reflecting shortages in their origin countries (PMC, 2013).

Nevertheless, access to culturally appropriate diets remains limited. A 2025 HSRC study highlighted that migrants struggle to obtain traditional leafy greens and fruits due to fragmented supply chains, high costs, and fading culinary knowledge (HSRC, 2025).

Cultural Identity and Migrant Food Enterprises

Food helps migrants preserve social identity. A study of Ethiopian migrants in Johannesburg showed that cooking and sharing traditional meals reinforced community bonds and cultural identity (Wits University, 2024).

Similarly, Somali restaurants in Bellville (Cape Town) provide spaces for social cohesion, cultural expression, and community solidarity (Brill, 2024).

Migrant-run informal food outlets, such as spaza shops and street vendors, fill gaps left by supermarkets that often ignore culturally relevant foods. However, these enterprises face xenophobia, harassment, and regulatory challenges, which threaten their sustainability (MiFOOD, 2023).

Gaps and Constraints Limiting Food Sovereignty

Despite resilience, transnational food networks face structural obstacles:

Fragmented supply chains limit access to traditional foods (HSRC, 2025).
Economic precarity forces reliance on informal work, reducing the ability to afford culturally appropriate food (Springer, 2024).
Remittance obligations divert resources from migrants’ own households (Springer, 2024).
Social discrimination and regulatory marginalization threaten migrant food vendors’ livelihoods (Springer, 2024).
Loss of culinary knowledge, especially among younger migrants, risks eroding cultural continuity (NU-BAKF, 2024).

Intersectional Factors: Who is Most Affected?

Migrant food experiences vary by gender, age, nationality, and documentation status:

Gender: Women often lead food preparation, preserving traditions and building community (Wits University, 2024).
Age: Younger migrants adopt urban diets and may lose traditional culinary knowledge (HSRC, 2025).
Nationality & documentation: Cross-border migrants often depend on social networks and informal markets. Those without legal documentation face additional barriers.
Dual obligations: Migrants frequently support both host and origin households, straining limited resources (Springer, 2024).

Successful Community-Led Food Initiatives

Despite challenges, some migrant communities and NGOs have built resilient food systems:

Grassroots initiatives in Gauteng and the Eastern Cape mobilize informal kitchens and communal food distribution, reducing hunger in migrant-dense areas (ScienceDirect, 2025).
Promotion of underutilized indigenous and traditional food crops (UITFCs) strengthens nutrition and cultural relevance (Frontiers, 2025).
Migrant-run restaurants and shops provide culturally relevant food while fostering community cohesion (Brill, 2024).

Policy Gaps and Recommendations

Gaps

Urban food policies often ignore migrant needs and informal food economies (Springer, 2025).
Informal food vendors lack regulatory support.
Traditional crops are not fully integrated into national or urban food planning.
Policies rarely address cultural identity and social meaning in food.

Recommendations

1. Integrate migrant food needs into urban food policy (6–12 months)

Map traditional crops and migrant food networks.
Include migrant vendors in policy consultations.

2. Support community-led initiatives and migrant enterprises (12–24 months)

Provide micro-grants, business training, and food safety support.
Facilitate community kitchens and communal food projects.

3. Promote production and distribution of traditional crops (2–5 years)

Support small-scale farming and urban agriculture for traditional foods.
Encourage youth training on culinary knowledge to preserve culture.

4. Enhance research and data collection (Ongoing)

Study migrant foodscapes with intersectional lenses.
Track dietary changes, remittance effects, and cultural practices.

Conclusion

Transnational food networks do more than feed African migrants—they maintain cultural identity, social cohesion, and resilience. Yet structural barriers often limit these networks. Inclusive, culturally aware policies are essential.

Policymakers, NGOs, researchers, and migrant communities must collaborate to create urban food systems that respect cultural diversity, preserve identity, and ensure food sovereignty. When migrants can access “food that feeds both body and soul,” cities become healthier, more inclusive, and more equitable.

References

Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC). (2025). Hidden superfoods: increasing traditional greens in Johannesburg. HSRC Review. Available at: [HSRC publication page]HSRC Repository+1
NU-BAKF. (2024). Food security and urban migrants briefing note. Review based on Census and urban food insecurity data. Available at: [NU-BAKF Briefing Note PDF]Newcastle University Blogs
MiFOOD Network. (2024). Translocal Households, Rural-Urban Links and Migrant Food Security in South Africa. MiFOOD Paper No. 29. Available at: [MiFOOD Paper No. 29]Scholars Commons+1
Towards urban food system transformation in South Africa. (2025). Discover Sustainability. DOI: See article page. SpringerLink+1
The role of underutilized indigenous and traditional food crops in enhancing rural livelihoods and food security in South Africa. (2025). Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. DOI: 10.3389/fsufs.2025.1605773 Frontiers+1