Something I have come to realize in my time in South Africa is the importance of bread on so many levels. It can be important on a very small scale in that some people’s day to day existence is largely dictated by the pursuit of bread or any substantive food in general (though the scale of importance of bread in this case is huge to the people who pursue it). In my own personal experience, from eating bread and toast in the dining hall every day on campus to eating just bread as meals while traveling, bread in and of itself has taken on greater value. I suppose I always took bread for granted and generally associated it with sandwiches or with rolls before dinner out at a restaurant. Also, my own constant encounters with ‘beggars’ and people who were hungry (children and adults alike) made me more keenly aware of the value and necessity of bread. Very often people would ask for a few Rand (South Africa currency) to buy some bread or the bread itself. Often I would go into a store with someone I had met on the street or someone I knew from various conversations on the street and buy some bread. Whether or not this is the best immediate response to encounters with hunger I am still not sure. There were also many instances of my own avoidance or denial of people who claimed to be seeking only bread. The issue is also much more complex regarding issues concerning substance abuse, conflict, as well as more structural issues of hunger and poverty. The symbolism of bread also extends to the global scale in light of the recent sharp price increase in staple food items like bread. This has a direct impact on the daily survival of so many people around the world, including those in and around Grahamstown who seek bread for their daily survival. I guess bread is little more than something to make a sandwich out of or hold your appetite while waiting for a restaurant meal.
