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Shining a spotlight on the heroes of the UFS food environment

07 January 2025 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Anja Aucamp

Food Garden — Students transport fresh vegetables from the university's sustainable vegetable tunnels for distribution to their peers. These vegetables play a role in promoting healthy eating habits and ensuring students have access to healthy meals, making a difference in their overall well-being and academic success.

“I’m writing this email to express my gratitude for what you and your office do. I don’t think you can fully understand how grateful I am for the food parcels. I’m able to go to bed with food in my stomach, all because of you and your team, and for that, I am so thankful. Before I found out about your office, I was stressed about where my next meal would come from. Now, I perform incredibly well in my studies. I honestly pray and hope that the office continues to receive the support it needs to continue being of assistance to those in need.”

This letter is one of many received by the UFS Food Environment Office, highlighting the important role the university plays in supporting students struggling with food insecurity.

Healthy food choices

Five years ago, the university established the institutional Food Environment Committee (FETC) to provide guidance and recommendations to the university administration on matters relating to the food environment of the university. The aim of the FETC is to promote healthy and sustainable food choices across all three UFS campuses.

The committee is also responsible for assessing the food needs of vulnerable groups to ensure inclusive and accessible programmes, overseeing strategy implementation, and advocating participation across the campus. Additionally, they ensure that university policies do not detract from the policies and activities of the Food Environment Strategy in order to promote a culture of health and wellness across the UFS. The committee also engages in continuous planning and budgeting to keep the strategy relevant and effective.

Some of their key strategic objectives include strengthening sustainability through more collaborative food projects and partnerships. They also aim to improve food security by increasing affordable, nutritious meal options. These also talk to the number of students supported through food bursaries, and the quantity of food items distributed through food banks. Other goals focus on ensuring dignity and inclusivity, and activating residences, student associations, and faculty organisations in the food environment programme.

Dr WP Wahl, Director of Student Life in the Division of Student Affairs, explains that the committee includes stakeholders from academic, support services, and student groups. Its purpose is to oversee different priority projects within the institution that speak to addressing hunger and malnutrition among students. Key members include Student Affairs, the Student Representative Council, food service providers, Kovsie Act, and faculty representatives, such as the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics in the Faculty of Health Sciences and the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences. These departments play a vital role in empowering and educating students, sharing information through videos, podcasts, and recipes on Facebook, the Food Environment webpage, and the Student Newsletter, as well as the Eat&Succeed page on Blackboard.

The Department of Nutrition and Dietetics is also closely involved in research, ensuring that decisions are based on scientific data. For instance, they compiled the 2021 and 2022 UFS Food Environment Task Committee Report, revealing that only 27% of UFS students are food secure, with 74% experiencing various degrees of food insecurity. In 2022, 39% of students reported going without food for a day because they could not afford it, and for 13%, this was almost a daily occurrence.

This research also examined, among others, eating patterns, food purchasing behaviours, and preparation habits that guide decisions to improve the university’s food environment and inform messaging to students.

Also playing a key role in executing the goals of the committee is the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development and Kovsie Act with the vegetable tunnels that were created on the Bloemfontein Campus and now on the South Campus for a sustainable flow of fresh produce that is channelled towards the food bank.

A supportive environment

The goal of promoting collaboration and mutually beneficial partnerships is to make a difference in the food environment at the university. Annelize Visagie, who is heading the Food Environment Office, highlights the university’s partnerships with major sponsors such as Gift for the Givers and Tiger Brands, who assist with food parcels. The No Student Hungry Programme (NSH) also has donors supporting its bursary initiative.

Since 2011, the university has made great strides in combating food insecurity through the NSH, which has supported the graduation of 875 students. Visagie finds it particularly rewarding to witness these graduates celebrate their achievements alongside their families, who express gratitude for the assistance provided. Such moments affirm the positive impact of their efforts in creating a supportive environment for students in need.

News Archive

Intervarsity postponed to 2013

2012-03-08

The annual Intervarsity between the Universities of the Free State and North-West (NWU), which traditionally takes place in the third term, has been postponed to 2013.

The Intervarsity between the UFS and NWU is an illustrious event that has already reached the special milestone of celebrating a 70-year Intervarsity tradition. The UFS/NWU Intervarsity is also known as one of the most reckoned events on the local and national sports and student calendars, and it is widely supported.

Representatives from both universities could for a variety of reasons not decide on a date which suited both universities.

The respective Intervarsity committees and senior managers of both universities have also taken the interests of the respective university communities and alumni of the institutions into account and have decided to postpone the 70^th-year celebration of Intervarsity by a year in order to be able to celebrate the milestone properly.

The UFS would have received the NWU in Bloemfontein this year and will therefore host the 70-year celebrations of the event next year as well.

Mr Rudi Buys, Dean: Student Affairs at the UFS has expressed his gratitude for the fact that both universities are committed to a special celebration of the Intervarsity tradition in 2013.

“The celebration of the 70^th Intervarsity between the two institutions will be an important milestone to commemorate decades of friendship, collaboration and healthy competition. Therefore we welcome this opportunity to plan a bigger and better programme for 2013,” he said.

The UFS-NWU 70-YEAR Intervarsity firstly aims to establish the programme as a proud example for both universities, where students and staff can pit their strengths against one another in a healthy manner.

The aim is to extend Intervarsity to various sections of the respective university communities to enable more students to participate. For instance, more sports codes will be added to the traditional competition on the rugby, soccer, netball and hockey fields, whilst various events focusing on arts and culture, i.e. choral singing and debating competitions, as well as dialogue between student leaders, will take place as part of the programme. All campuses of the two universities will participate in the programmes.

Students are even investigating the possibility of electronic competitions such as on-line games as part of the Intervarsity

During the Intervarsity last year, several new possibilities were already tested to ensure that the 70^th anniversary would be a huge success.

The Central Intervarsity Committee of the UFS has decided to replace the Intervarsity 2012 programme with an INTRA-varsity programme between its respective campuses. For this occasion, various sports, arts and culture, and leadership events between the Bloemfontein and Qwaqwa Campuses are planned, and the Central University of Technology might be invited as well to participate as guests in some programmes.

Media Release
8 March 2012
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: news@ufs.ac.za

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