IHSAAN BASSIER, Phd candidate in Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst REFILOE JOALA, Researcher and PhD candidate at PLAAS, University of the Western Cape THANDO VILAKAZI, Executive Director of the Centre for Competition, Regulation and Economic Development, University of Johannesburg COVID-19 has wrought havoc on poor households in countries across the world. In South Africa, more and more people are facing hunger resulting from mass job losses and small, poorly implemented supplementary cash grants. On top of this the pandemic has put in stark relief the country’s poorly understood food system, in which powerful firms operate with little oversight while vulnerable…