“How Do I Start Applying?”: Afrikaner Refugee’s First Food Bank Haul in America Wows Mzansi
- An Afrikaans-speaking South African mother living as a refugee in the US shared her family's 30-day food pantry haul on TikTok
- The sheer volume of supplies, from fresh produce and meats to bread and clothing, spilt across the family's couches
- South Africans online were full of questions about how the food assistance programme works and what brought the family to the US
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Source: Getty Images
An Afrikaans-speaking South African mother, living as a refugee in the United States, gave her TikTok followers a candid look at what a month's worth of food assistance actually looks like for her family. TikTok user @country.girl.van posted the video on 9 October 2026, walking viewers through a haul so large it had to be laid out across the family's couches because it would not all fit on the kitchen counter.
Inside a month of food assistance
The supplies covered a wide range: fresh fruit and vegetables, ground meats, chicken sausages, eggs, dairy, canned goods, and multiple loaves of sourdough and artisanal bread. A plush toy, handed to them while they waited, also made an appearance. Alongside the food, she showed off a selection of clothing she had picked up for her husband and daughter, each item priced between $3 and $5 (roughly R54 to R90). She was honest about the small downsides, noting that some of the fruit had bruising, but was otherwise full of praise for the resource. To stretch the supplies across the full month, her family planned to freeze the bread and portions of the vegetables.
Watch the food pantry haul that got Mzansi talking in the TikTok video here.
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Source: UGC
South Africans react with curiosity and warmth
The video drew a wave of questions and supportive comments from South African viewers.
@Abl__25 asked:
"As ek mag vra, hoekom het julle as refugees oorgegaan (If I may ask, why did you all go over as refugees)?"
@Fire_Angel wrote:
"Love die chosen Christelike hemp van jou man 🥰 (Love the chosen Christian shirt of your husband)."
@NicolaMeyer offered practical advice:
"Die brood gaan alles goed vries (The bread will all freeze well)."
@Conroy asked:
"How do I start applying?"
@Elaine_Laine added:
"Daai fish nuggets is Baie lekker; ek airfry hulle nice and crispy (Those fish nuggets are very tasty; I airfry them nice and crispy)."
@Karen Heiberg Property Service was curious:
"Gee hul vir jul koffie, suiker ook? lyk alles baie nice (Do they give you coffee, sugar too? Everything looks very nice)."
3 Brief news articles about Afrikaner refugees
- An Afrikaner woman living in the US broke down while advising South Africans to leave replaceable items behind and prioritise irreplaceable memories when packing to move abroad.
- Six months in the US, an Afrikaner refugee in Mississippi reassured anxious emigrating parents about how quickly her children adapted to American schools and picked up fluent English.
- A refugee mother defended her 28-year-old visually impaired son after his arrest on multiple charges in Ohio, maintaining his innocence following an online vigilante sting.
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Source: Briefly News
