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10 March 2022
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Story Anthony Mthembu
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Photo Unsplash
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.
UFS presents its third Amazing Rainbow Rally
2007-05-31
The University of the Free State (UFS) and OFM will present the third Amazing Rainbow Rally on Friday, 8 June 2007 in Bloemfontein.
This year’s Rally promises to be loads of fun with plenty of new surprises in store. The Amazing Rainbow Rally, our version of the popular television series the Amazing Race, is held in aid of children and babies with serious diseases in the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health in the Faculty of Health Sciences. By raising the necessary funds, equipment can be acquired to meet the unique health care needs of these special patients. It will also enable the UFS to maintain the high standards of education, training and research in this field.
In the Amazing Rainbow Rally, teams travel along a route with various checkpoints where activities will have to be completed, or clues solved, to be able to proceed to the next checkpoint. The team who completes the Rally first will be the winner of the Amazing Rainbow Rally 2007.
The day promises to be a huge event with lots of challenging activities for the teams and live crossings to the OFM Breakfast Team. Teams will travel in marked “taxi’s” from checkpoint to checkpoint. So give them a shout and show your support!
The Coca-Cola Celebrity Team, with Ebi Halberstadt (Braam from Egoli) and Lorraine Kriek (UFS Rag Queen and SRC President) will add extra sparkle to the event.
Join us at the Windmill Casino, the starting point for this year’s Rally at 12:00 on 8 June 2007!
Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl@ufs.ac.za
29 May 2007