Food blogger Viglatzis prepares balanced meals for R20 — Daily Maverick

In Cape Town, South Africa, food blogger Olivia Viglatzis, known on social media as olivefoodie, creates videos about affordable balanced meals and distributes food parcels to people in need. As Daily Maverick reports, her page has more than 100,000 followers on TikTok and 150,000 on Facebook.

Viglatzis began running her budget food series about four years ago from her own kitchen. At first, she prepared portions for around R40, and recently set herself the goal of reducing the cost to R20. In such meals, she usually combines vegetables, including cabbage, rice, and a source of protein — eggs or meat.

Recipes for students

Viglatzis said that many students turned out to be among her audience, although she had primarily expected mothers around the age of 40. According to her, students often need simple recipes because they have only a pot or frying pan, a limited budget, and little time for complex cooking. The blogger says she has received messages from students thanking her for recipes that helped them eat better during financial difficulties.

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She publishes videos about budget meals approximately three times a week. Her wife, Veronica Bezuidenhout, helps with filming and editing. According to Viglatzis, producing one video after their main jobs can take around five hours, as both have full-time jobs.

Helping Cape Town communities

At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Viglatzis and Bezuidenhout began preparing and distributing food parcels in their Richwood community in Cape Town. Now, at least once a month, Viglatzis delivers such parcels to pensioners, people looking for work, and others in need, mainly in Richwood and Bothasig.

Through her videos, Viglatzis also explains how to inexpensively prepare large quantities of food for others. In the future, she hopes to expand this assistance and open her own charity kitchen, and she would also like to create a television programme about affordable food.