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Students play leading role to ensure food security

17 June 2020 | Story Dr WP Wahl

The Division of Student Affairs (DSA) prioritises innovation to meet the challenges of food insecurity and malnutrition among students. To this end, several student volunteers and student governance structures are collaborating with the DSA on various initiatives.

During 2019, various conversations were held about the possibility of creating a health-promoting food environment at the UFS where students and staff are well informed and empowered to take appropriate action regarding their food and nutritional needs. These conversations resulted in an institutional strategy to address the food environment at the UFS. Student representatives serve on a technical committee that directs the implementation of this strategy. In this regard, several initiatives have already been launched.

Students from residences and other student communities have planted vegetable gardens on the Bloemfontein Campus with the assistance of KovsieACT and the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences. Students and staff are already harvesting and distributing vegetables to needy students every week. Measurements were put in place to continue this during the COVID-19 period. The following vegetables were planted: spinach, cabbage, beetroot, broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots.

Food parcels, donated by Tiger Brands and Gift of the Givers, are continuously handed out by DSA staff and student volunteers. In this regard, 540 food parcels have already been handed out on the Bloemfontein Campus during the COVID-19 period alone. During the same time, 117 students received food parcels on the Qwaqwa Campus. The innovation of this food parcel project rests on the fact that business, NPOs, UFS students, and DSA staff are collaborating to address food insecurity and malnutrition.

More collaborative initiatives will be implemented over the next 12 months. The DSA staff and students are already working with the Department of Dietetics and Consumer Sciences to create information packages about the preparation of low-budget nutritious meals.

News Archive

UFS research on yeast nanorobotics

2006-05-09

Ten members from the University of the Free State's (UFS) Lipid Biotechnology Research Group in the Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology will be presenting their research on yeast nanorobotics (nanotechnology) at three international conferences in Europe during May and June 2006.

It is one of the biggest group of students from the department to present their research overseas.

The conferences to be attended include the 2nd International Conference on Non Mammalian Eicosanoids, Bioactive Lipids and Plant Oxylipins held in Berlin, Germany; the 3rd European Conference on Computational Mechanics (ECCM-2006) held in Lisbon, Portugal and the 25th International Specialised Symposium on Yeasts (ISSY 2006) held in Helsinki, Finland. The UFS Lipid Biotechnology Group is also co-organising the conference in Berlin.

The group members are in front from the left Ms Chantel Swart (M Sc student), Ms Ntsoaki Leeuw (M Sc student) and Ms Monique Goldblatt (M Sc student).
Middle from the left Mr Olihile Sebolai (Ph D student and recipient of the Free State Premier Excellence Award), Ms Ané van Heerden (M Sc student) and Dr Catrine Strauss (post-doctoral student).
At the back are from the left Mr Desmond Ncango (M Sc), Dr Carlien Pohl (Senior Researcher), Prof Pieter van Wyk (Head: UFS Center for Confocal and Electron Microscopy) and Prof Lodewyk Kock (Head: UFS Lipid Biotechnology Group).
Photo: Stephen Collett

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