Students struggle to afford healthy food

Every year more than 1000 North-West University (NWU) students across all three campuses apply for food support, suggesting many students are struggling to afford healthy food.

This is according to Meal-a-Day, which is hosted by the NWU Fundraising and Development Office, in collaboration with NWU’s three campuses. Meal-a-Day is a project which tends to student’s monthly supply of food (for one meal a day), along with other essentials, including clothing.  

Because of the growing demand for help from students, Meal-a-Day has limited the food help to students with bursaries. But many students continue to struggle to have enough healthy food, as seen by a student poll conducted by threestreamsmedia on the NWU Potchefstroom campus.

 The poll aimed to determine what students’ views are on meeting their nutritional needs. In this poll students with bursaries stated that their bursaries do not help them to buy healthy food, that some students are not aware of initiatives to support them on campus and that these students know of others who are not able to attain healthy foods (whether they have bursaries or not). The polls show that students require help with their food needs, whether in hostels, with or without bursaries, or other financial reasons. 

15 students from different financial backgrounds participated in the poll. Some of the questions that were asked, included if the students were aware of initiatives to help them access food, including Big Prims and Meal-a-Day, available on campus. The majority answered no. When asked if students had experienced food shortage, most answered yes. The majority of the students in the poll answered yes when asked if they knew about students who struggle financially to accommodate their food needs with or without bursaries. 

The same students from the previous poll were asked, in a separate poll, what type of foods they consume on a daily basis, based on their available finances. The poll concluded that two-minute noodles, bread, and fast food from the Bult (Varsity Cafe, Chicken Licken, and KFC) are being regularly consumed by students on the NWU campus.

Ivan Dreyer (21), says his bursary does help with his nutritional needs. He adds: “Although I have a bursary I also work. So I haven’t experienced food shortages”. Andria van Rooyen (22), who has struggled with a shortage of food says her bursary does not help with providing her with nutritional food. Jurie Potgieter (25) says that bursaries can help but it, “Depends on your other expenses, but usually no”. 

According to Meal-a-Day’s NWU website the organisation has been contributing to students’ physical well-being for eight years.  Malnutrition is identified as a big challenge, as the demand for help exceeds available resources. “I am sure we agree that one meal a day is not enough, but it is a good place to start if one wants to help a needy student to develop to their full potential,” says Maria Mopelong, coordinator of fundraising and development.

Another event that contributes to students in need of food parcels is Big Prims. Big Prims is an initiative that has been created to cater for students who reside in hostels. According to the NWU Student Campus Council’s (SCC) Facebook page Big Prims is an annual event presented on the Potchefstroom campus. During this event, all the Prims of the residences on campus are placed in glass boxes without food to raise money and awareness for the Prim funds which serve to help students in need by providing basic necessities to them”.

“I personally understand the need for good and nutritious food… My job is to make sure that we meet the financially needy students halfway. We also provide the list of healthy food they can buy, provided that they are not allergic to the food items,“ says Lize-Marie Eloff (21), a Klawerhof residence house committee member, with the portfolio Big-Prim and finances.

Professor of Dietetics in Pharmacology, Salome Kruger says it is important for students to receive proper nutrition for the body to provide energy, maintaining the body and fighting infections.

Jacobus Visser (22), who struggles with nutritional deficiency because of his lack of finances and does not have a bursary, confirms what Kruger said. “I feel sluggish and tired throughout the day because of my diet,” he said. — Tsholofelo Mojahi, Gabi Rothmann and Lisa Swanepoel