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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

Kovsie wins luxury apartment in Paarl-Franschhoek Valley

2016-11-09

Description: Win A Home Tags: Win A Home

Palesa Moisi, winner of the Win A Home
competition on the Afternoon Express
Show on SABC 3.
Photo: Win A Home

The saying “Dreams do come true” is a perfect explanation for 25-year-old Palesa Moisi who was announced winner of the Win A Home competition.

Palesa, who is currently completing a Postgraduate Certificate in Education at the University of the Free State, is the proud owner of a beautiful apartment worth almost R3 million. The day after the announcement, she was escorted to the Val de Vie Estate to pick her dream apartment from three beautiful designer apartments.

Proud owner of apartment at Val de Vie

With Win A Home Season 3 on SABC 3’s Afternoon Express, viewers not only stood a chance to win bi-weekly prizes, but Palesa walked away with a two-bedroomed furnished apartment in the Polo Village at the prestigious Val de Vie Estate in the Paarl-Franschhoek Valley near Cape Town. The draw took place on 26 August 2016 at the Afternoon Express Studios.

Time stood still for a moment

Palesa says when she stepped towards the safe, which each contestant was assigned to, and opened it, everything just stood still. A key to the apartment was inside one of the safes. “My mind was somewhere else and when I saw the key I realised: ‘Hey I need to take it out and show it to everyone’.”

Financial constraints are a big issue for her family. Her mother is a single parent and Palesa has a younger sister who needs to be cared for. “I’m still a student and I think that if I rent out the house for now, I will be able to pay for my fees and take some pressure off of my mother,” she says.

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