The informal sector remains an important component of the South African food system, despite the rapid transformation and consolidation of the formal food sector since the end of apartheid. (Greenberg 2010, Ramabulana 2011, Vink and van Rooyen 2009). The Marketing of Agricultural Products Act (Act 47 of 1996) and the 2001 Strategic Plan for Agriculture were powerful tools of deregulation and liberalization within the food system. Although these policy instruments were intended to provide greater equality within the agricultural sector, they appear to have had the opposite effect. The number of commercial farming units in South Africa declined by 76% between 1990 and 2008 (Vink and van Rooyen 2009). This was part of a process of consolidation in the agricultural sector, with an increase in the number of very large agribusiness farms and a decline in mid-sized farms. Another central feature of this transformation is in the food retail sector which is increasingly dominated by major supermarket chains (Crush and Frayne 2011). This report argues that it is essential to understand the dynamics of the informal food retail sector because of its vital role in ensuring greater access to food by the urban poor. Existing policy frameworks to address food security and to govern the informal sector tend to neglect informal retail in the food system. As a result, the sector is poorly understood. The report therefore attempts to identify the characteristics of the sector that impact on its ability to address the food needs of the neighbourhoods in which the businesses are located. Although the research is focused on Cape Town, the findings are of broader relevance.