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GROW your own vegetables

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.

News Archive

Ladies smash competition to reign supreme

2017-03-09

Description:Stagedoor 2017 Tags: Stagedoor 2017 longdesc=

This year, the ladies from Roosmaryn and Sonnedou
walked away as the Stagedoor winners.
Photo: Johan Roux

This year, the first-years gave a show-stopping performance as they showed the audience how to make Stagedoor great again.

Hard work and sacrifice pays off

Let’s make Stagedoor great again was the theme behind this year’s Stagedoor production, which allowed all residences to get their creative juices flowing by bringing the theme to life in their own unique way.

Divine Bitalo, Roosmaryn RC Culture, said that they are honoured to have been crowned as the champions. “We put in a lot of hard work and sacrifice and we are just glad that everything worked out in the end.”

First-years given amazing platform

Teneal van Deventer, Sonnedou RC Culture, concurred with the words of Divine and also thanked the university for the opportunity. “I would like to thank Kovsies for giving our first-years this amazing platform to showcase their talents and make new friends.”

The Stagedoor finals, which took place on Saturday 4 March at Kovsie Church, saw our first-years battle it out to be crowned as this year’s winners and claiming the bragging rights for the year.

The winners were:

1st place: Roosmaryn and Sonnedou

2nd place: BeyCon (Beyers Naude and Conlaures)

3rd place: Marjolein and Legatum

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