Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU) Senior Lecturer in the Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, Dr Heather Legodi, is calling for greater accountability and urgent action to protect children from malnutrition and unsafe food practices, emphasising that access to safe, nutritious food is fundamental to their health, development and well-being.
A specialist in public health nutrition, community engagement and food security, Dr Legodi believes that addressing childhood malnutrition requires more than nutritional guidance. It demands an understanding of poverty, food accessibility, cultural practices, and the environments where children live and learn.
Her commitment to the field is rooted in her upbringing in Tembisa, where sharing food and looking out for others were part of everyday life. Recalling how she and her friends shared meals, including pap and chicken feet, vegetables and kota bought with pooled pocket money, she says these experiences shaped her understanding of food as both nourishment and a source of human connection.
Her career in dietetics was not initially planned. After matriculating with distinctions in Biology and English, she intended to study Computer Science. However, when she applied to the then Medical University of Southern Africa (MEDUNSA), she found that Computer Science and Dentistry were fully subscribed. Dietetics became an unexpected opportunity. “I often say that I think the degree chose me,” she reflects.
Dr Legodi completed her undergraduate studies in 1994, followed by a Master of Science in Nutrition at Alabama A&M University in the United States in 1999. She later earned a doctorate in Paediatrics from the University of the Witwatersrand and, in 2021, a Diploma in Public Health from the University of Pretoria, focusing on food and nutrition security.
Her professional experience includes academic leadership, research and community-based interventions. She served as Head of the Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Pretoria from 2020 to 2024. She also contributed to developing guidelines with UNICEF on foods and beverages sold in South African schools, strengthening her conviction that children’s nutritional outcomes are closely linked to their school environments.
At SMU, where she joined in 2024, Dr Legodi continues to advance public health nutrition and community engagement. Her expertise was recently featured in an eNCA Checkpoint investigation presented by Nkepile Mabuse, which examined children consuming food prepared using repeatedly discarded cooking oil, locally known as “Lalaza”, at a school in Orange Farm.
Reacting to the footage, she said: “My heart broke. I just saw children eating poison.” She believes the matter demands accountability, especially given the significant public investment in the National School Nutrition Programme. Meals provided to learners, she argues, must be safe, nutritious and prepared in conditions that uphold children’s dignity.
Dr Legodi also calls on parents and communities to model responsible food practices, including proper hygiene, informed dietary choices, recycling and household food production. In her teaching, she uses contemporary social challenges to encourage students to think critically and apply nutritional knowledge to real-life community needs.
Her guiding philosophy is captured in the book My Name Is Today, which she encountered during her Community Nutrition studies. Its message continues to shape her work: “We have to do better today, not tomorrow.”
Through academics such as Dr Legodi, SMU continues to strengthen the connection between health sciences education, research and community engagement, contributing to improved health and well-being beyond the university.
By Dimakatso Modise
