This study will shed light on the food insecurity consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic shocks by doing the following: (i) Ascertaining how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected food security in South Africa (access, utilisation, availability and stability), (ii) Quantifying the effectiveness of fiscal policy (and Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations (IGFR) instruments in particular) in redressing the food insecurity challenge, (iii) Evaluating the adaptability of fiscal policy (and IGFR instruments in particular) to address the challenges of food insecurity and vulnerability for both urban and rural households. The specific objectives of the research are as follows: Analyse the food security situation in the country; evaluate the COVID-19 lockdown polices on household food security; evaluate the effectiveness and responsiveness of fiscal policy (and IGFR instruments in
particular) in addressing the challenges of food insecurity; make recommendations on how the IGFR instruments can be adapted to address the
challenges of food insecurity and vulnerability for both urban and rural households.