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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

Tough future if nothing changes in Africa

2015-02-20

The Department of Political Studies and Governance at the UFS recently hosted a workshop with the Osaka School for International Public Policy and the Southern African Centre for Collaboration in Peace and Security Studies.

The workshop, which was held on Thursday 12 February, had the theme of Perspectives on African Peace and Security. During workshop sessions, thoughts and views on peace and security were discussed for both African and South African circumstances. This was the fourth year of this joint workshop at the UFS.

Prof Hussein Solomon from the Department of Political Studies and Governance at the UFS shared some notes:

“In terms of South Africa, the fact that only 11% of South Africans have a post-school education holds negative prospects for us attaining a so-called ‘knowledge economy’”, says Prof Solomon.

“This also means that unemployment will continue to remain high since, in certain key areas, the South African economy is quite sophisticated, and needs a sophisticated labour force. Therefore, high unemployment translates into further social unrest, especially if one considers that youth unemployment is approaching 50%.”

Moving to broader issues in Africa, Solomon states that governance remains a challenge.

“There is a need to move away from Eurocentric forms of governance to more hybrid forms, implementing a mix of western forms of governance alongside more traditional forms.”

“Otherwise, the probability of conflict remains high as we look into the future. The possibility of water wars between African states is distinct.”

“Terrorism too will be with us for some time to come, with three terrorist attacks per day in Africa. Making matters worse, whether it is conflict over water or terrorist atrocities, is the African Union’s inability to resolve these issues. It simply does not have the capacity”, says Solomon.

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