The South African Child Support Grant (CSG) was provided to 2.5 million children when it was initiated in 1998 (Aguero et al., 2006). Currently, 11 792 596 South African children receive the CSG (SASSA, 2015), and this figure is projected to rise to 12.3 million by 2017 (National Treasury, 2015). Welfare grants are estimated to be the main source of income for 22 % of South African households (National Treasury, 2014). The grant system is intended to improve the health and lives of South Africa's poorest, which are at a high risk of household food insecurity. While social grants have made some impact on South African household food security (Coetzee, 2014), Altman, Hart and Jacobs (2009) warn that poor households dependent on cash transfers, are vulnerable to variations in national politics and policy changes, potentially erasing all of the progress that has been made thus far.