A spoonful of sugar: how South Africa’s weigh-and-pay shops are tackling ‘poverty tax’ head on

Run by a social enterprise, the six shops operate from shipping containers across Johannesburg’s Alexandra township and sell food and household goods by weight in small, affordable amounts Every morning, on her way to the laundry shop she runs in Johannesburg’s Alexandra township, Tsholofelo Mphela stops at a bright yellow shipping container to buy a few spoonfuls of sugar.

Inside, shelves are lined with large jars of beans, rice and maize meal, and clear boxes filled with breakfast cereal and loose teabags. A tap dispenses cooking oil by the millilitre. The cashier weighs Mphela’s purchase before ringing it up for a few rand.

Read the original report at The Guardian.