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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

Meet our Council Members: Derek Foster, ethical and responsible leadership role model

2016-05-18

Mr Derek Foster
Photo: Stephen Collett

Derek Foster was elected to the Council of the University of the Free State (UFS) in October 2012. He was the first Chartered Accountant (South Africa) to be appointed to Council because of the role he could play through his training, background, and experience. In particular, it was his knowledge of corporate governance, ethics, and reporting that led to his serving currently on the Audit and Risk Committee, the Finance Committee, and the Investment Committee of Council.

This Kovsie alumnus qualified as chartered accountant at the UFS in 1978. During his student years, he played rugby for Oud-Studente, and served in the Evening Student Representative Council.

Until December 2010, Derek was a partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers, which he joined in 1972 as a rookie when the company was still known as Meyer, Nel and Co. Nowadays, he is a business consultant and company director, serving on the boards of NWK Limited, Cancer Association of South Africa (national), and Samba Cooperative Limited.

His background and knowledge of auditing shine through strongly when it comes to the manner in which he sees his role as Council member. “The contribution which I can make to the Council of the university is to ensure that management executes strategy and policy appropriately, as formulated and approved by Council, in the best interest of the university community. Of course, this should be done in an ethical, sustainable manner, taking into account the risk environment we find ourselves in. We need to provide ethical leadership, and ensure that the UFS is a responsible corporate institution,” he says.

Work obligations are keeping him very busy, but his four grandsons are equally high on his priority list. He met his wife, Sally, at Kovsies, another reason why the university is close to his heart. “Everything I do, I want to do with enthusiasm and passion, and I want to make a difference wherever I go. I would also like to be a good grandfather, and set a memorable example to my grandchildren,” he says.

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