No grocery stress for Women in Faith Stokvel

If you belong to a grocery stokvel, you know Christmas will come early each year.

Not only that, but you probably won’t be taking much out of your pocket to buy groceries for December and January, as we consume more food over the holidays.

This is the case for members of the Women in Faith Stokvel who save thousands of rand throughout the year and buy groceries at the end of November or beginning of December and divide it among themselves.

Started three years ago, Women in Faith has 60 members and they have divided themselves into five groups. The stokvel has members in different parts of Soweto.

Kate Ngubeni said they contributed R350 a month from January to the end of the year.

“We saw just how people struggle to buy groceries in December and this stokvel was started to address exactly that. You save up money throughout the year and in December you don’t have to stress about putting food on the table,” said Ngubeni.

Some of the grocery items bought by members of the Women in Faith Stokvel. (supplied)

She said the group does not have a specific supermarket they buy from. “What we do is we look at which shops have specials. We don’t just shop for groceries, we also shop for promotions.

“That way, we get far more for way less. We also buy in bulk, which saves us a lot of money and goes a long way in ensuring that we get more groceries for less,” Ngubeni said.

She said with her, the groceries last a very long time. “I can go for months without buying anything."

Founding member Elizabeth Mthembu, 59, said, “The stokvel has really helped me. Come January, I still have some food and toiletries in the house. The stuff I get goes a long way and sometimes lasts until February. January is tough for many of us but since I joined the stokvel, I hardly run out of groceries.

“My children have spreads for their lunch boxes in January and we have toiletries covered. The only thing I have to worry about is buying meat.”

Ngubeni said they needed new members as they had old ones who indicated they would not be able to continue with the stokvel in 2023.

Mthembu said they had agreed to increase their contribution to R400 in January 2023.

Their grocery list includes mealie meal, sugar, canned foods, teabags, powder milk, cooking oil, washing powder and toothpastes.