​​ Food insecurity and the need for the most basic items are becoming more prevalent among students in South Africa. Although no national research on the issue has been conducted, individual surveys on university campuses revealed that a large number of students are daily burdened with food insecurity and even severe hunger.

After the announcement on fee-free Higher Education for students, it is expected that food insecurity among students might increase.

“The general perception is that students in need will receive financial support that covers all their university costs," says Karen Bruns, Senior Director of Development and Alumni Relations at Stellenbosch University (SU).

“Unfortunately this is not so. There are limits on each expense component, like tuition, accommodation and food allowances. This results in shortfalls that the student is still liable for. The most pressing times for students are at the beginning of the year when students are still waiting for funding to be approved and just before final exams when the food allowances dry up," she explains.

SU has a number of initiatives in place to assist students in need. One of these initiatives is the Vouch4US programme at the Stellenbosch campus. 

In 2015, Lizzie Witbooi, the social worker at SU's Stellenbosch campus, started the Vouch4US program, an initiative that encourages the public to purchase and donate retails vouchers, which are then distributed to students for the purpose of purchasing food, medication and other much-needed necessities.

Witbooi says over the past few years there has been a significant increase in the number of food insecure students seeking assistance.

“Often bursaries only pay for tuition and textbooks and many students don't receive a food allowance," she says. The result is that many students are not sure how they will pay for food and have to attend class on an empty stomach. In 2017 we assisted over 300 students with vouchers or food parcels which included food and personal hygiene items. During the first semester of this year, almost 200 students came to us for assistance."

Another programme addressing food need among students at SU is the Tygerberg Food Pantry. This initiative was started in 2015 by a group of students at the University's Tygerberg campus.

“It started out with a few students collecting non-perishable food items among themselves and distributing small food parcels. It has developed so much that we now have students, staff, the wider community and regular external donors contributing to the project," says Lee Baatjes, a medical student at the Tygerberg campus and coordinator of the Tygerberg Food Pantry.

“Although we believe that no student should be burdened with the stress of food insecurity, this project is about more than donating a food parcel to a student. Through this programme, we also cultivate a culture of empathy and caring among our students."

• For donations or to become involved with any of the above-mentioned programmes, contact Lizzie Witbooi (Vouch4US) at [email protected] or Lee Baatjes (Tygerberg Food Pantry) at [email protected].