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Fighting Food Insecurity at the University of the Free State

10 March 2022 | Story Anthony Mthembu | Photo Unsplash

Food security — The No Student Hungry team gearing up to start distributing food parcels to the selected students.

The UFS is one of the many institutions of higher learning where food insecurity is an active issue. However, the No Student Hungry Programme is one of the initiatives launched at the university to assist in fighting food insecurity at the institution.

The purpose of the programme

Since its inception in 2011, the initiative has assisted many students in acquiring a healthy meal. Additionally, the Food Environment Office also hands out food packages, so that students can continue to achieve academically. “We are trying to develop a healthy environment for students and make it easier for them to have a nice and healthy meal,” stated Annelize Visagie, who heads the Food Environment Office at the UFS. The Food Environment programme is spread out on all three campuses, each with its own facilitators. Furthermore, the programme mainly caters for students who are not funded by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) but who are excelling academically. The abovementioned students apply for assistance online, and a list is then drawn up of students who receive assistance for the year.

Alternative solutions to keep the initiative running

On the Bloemfontein Campus, the No Student Hungry Programme will be catering for 200 students in the 2022 academic year, assisting them with a daily nutritious meal. Additional food parcels are also handed out to provide further assistance. “We give food parcels to the students on the list every Tuesday and Thursday at the Thakaneng Bridge,” Visagie highlighted. However, she argues that catering for the student population through this programme can be a challenge, as the demand for assistance is growing rapidly and the ability to assist is limited. The programme relies on partnerships and sponsors to assist the student body. In fact, the coordinators of the programme currently have a memorandum of understanding with Tiger Brands according to which they deliver around 100 food parcels for distribution.

In addition, the coordinators have put in place alternative measures to ensure that they can provide more food to students. “The Kovsie Act Office, in partnership with the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development, has started a food garden where healthy and nutritious produce are grown, in order to add value to the distribution,” she indicated. Although the programme can only assist to a point, students who are in desperate need of assistance are never turned away. In fact, the Social Support Unit at Thakaneng Bridge usually assists students with food vouchers for a maximum of four days.

A commitment to teaching healthy eating habits

The programme is not only committed to curbing food insecurity, but also to ensuring that students have a healthy and balanced diet. As such, a booklet is being issued by the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics in collaboration with the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development, which contains ways in which students can make a healthy meal using some of the ingredients offered in the food parcels.

“We want to teach students how to eat healthy in the cheapest way, because they don’t have a lot of money to buy expensive food products,” Visagie argued.

News Archive

Centre for Africa Studies launches its ANC Centenary Seminar Series

2010-12-10

Prof. Chris Landsberg, Dr Pule Matjoa, Prof. Kwandiwe Kondlo and Herbert Maserumule, the main speakers during the launch of the ANC Centenary Seminar Series.
Photo: Christiaan van der Merwe

The Centre for Africa Studies at the University of the Free State (UFS) recently launched its series of seminars commemorating the centenary celebrations of the African National Congress (ANC). The launch of the series took place on 30 November 2010, with the seminar series running from February 2011 until February 2012, the year of the centenary celebrations of the ANC.

Along with UFS staff members and students, various special guests also attended the launch of the seminar series, including former Premier Ms Winkie Direko, representatives of the office of the current Premier and the Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS, Prof. Jonathan Jansen. Prof. Jansen praised the Centre for Africa Studies for its vision in establishing the seminar series and added that he would be a regular attendee when the seminars kicked off in 2011.

The seminar series is the brainchild of Prof. Kwandiwe Kondlo, Head of the Centre for Africa Studies at the UFS. Prof. Kondlo explained that the aims of the seminars were to delve into the legacy of the ANC from a firm historical perspective, as well as to develop a firmer understanding of the dynamics of contemporary South Africa. He stressed the scholarly and academic nature of the seminars, hoping for robust and critical debate amongst future audiences about the topics at hand. Publications in journals and books at the end of the series will be the secondary objective of the Centre.

The three guest lecturers for the launch were Dr Pule Matjoa, Prof. Chris Landsberg and Herbert Maserumule. Dr Matjoa, an ANC veteran, elucidated the history of the party from an insider’s perspective while Prof. Landsberg spoke about the past and present foreign policy of the ANC. Mr Maserumule examined the ruling party’s economic thinking, with special focus on the distinctions between a democratic and developmental state.

The question-and-answer session after the lecture produced lively debate, which set a premise for the rest of the series. The first seminar in the series will take place on 4 February 2011.

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