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24 August 2022 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied
UFS vegetable garden
A variety of vegetables, including beans, spinach, onions, and carrots, are sheltered in 40 vegetable boxes in the two 300 m² tunnels opposite the Welwitschia Residence on the Bloemfontein Campus.

At the University of the Free State (UFS), research findings have indicated that 59% of students do not know where their next meal will come from. The recent COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the unemployment rate of 34,9%, adding to the likelihood of our students being affected even more by food insecurity. 

One of the initiatives the university has created to address the issue, is a vegetable production and training programme. The purpose of the programme, which was established by the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development, KovsieACT, and the Food Environment Office, is to teach students how to produce vegetables. 

A variety of vegetables, including beans, spinach, onions, and carrots, are sheltered in 40 vegetable boxes in the two 300 m² tunnels opposite the Welwitschia Residence on the Bloemfontein Campus. Not only is this initiative providing students with fresh produce that supplements the food parcels they receive from the Food Environment Office through the No Student Hungry Project. It also provides them with the opportunity to get involved on a voluntary basis in the food production process, including the planting and harvesting of the vegetables. 

Food production is an important skill in growing one’s own food. Moreover, it is also a valuable skill for students to transfer to their communities back home.

From mid-August through to the end of October is planting season for a number of vegetables. Starting spring on a high note, the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development, KovsieACT, and the Food Environment Office invited food security activist, Thabo Olivier, to address the university community and provide some valuable guidelines to grow your own food in innovative ways. 

Date: Thursday 1 September 2022
Time: 13:00
Venue: Thakaneng Bridge

Invest in your future and join the event, which will include hands-on harvesting from the vegetables gardens as well as a food demonstration. 

More information: Teddy Sibiya on SibiyaLT@ufs.ac.za at KovsieAct. 

Grow you own vegetables

News Archive

Gate re-opens to allow limited access
2014-01-29

The end of 2013 has marked the escalation of the university’s stranglehold on crime. With the launch of the B|Smart Campaign, the entire Kovsie community has been sharpening their safety senses.

Amidst this drive towards increased safety on the Bloemfontein Campus, the university has made an interim decision to close one of the gates. As from 1 October 2013, the gate at Badenhorst Street in Universitas near Roosmaryn residence has been closed for traffic.

As the safety initiative is gaining momentum, the matter of the closed gate has recently been reviewed. The university provisionally decided to re-open the gate to grant limited entry for vehicles and pedestrians, with immediate effect.

Only staff and students of the university, and legitimate visitors to the Bloemfontein Campus, will be allowed access. The gate will only be open during weekdays between:

  • 06:30 – 08:30 and
  • 16:00 – 18:00.

No entry will be allowed during weekends, as has been the case in the past.

“A student or staff card will ensure easy access and anybody else would have to validate their reason for entering,” explained Mokgawa Kobe, Director of Protection Services. Legitimate visitors will have to explain or prove their reason for wishing to enter the campus, he said. Absolutely no thoroughfare will be allowed.

Electronic access control is being implemented and as soon as this has been completed, the gate will be fully operational again.

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