University students make use of emergency food vouchers

University of Cape Town students in residences have become well acquainted with "emergency food vouchers" since last year, when strikes and protests kept catering staff away from the kitchens.

When that happens, the university issues two R55 vouchers a day to res students, with the stipulation that they be redeemed within 48 hours at a few specific Pick n Pay branches and a fast-food outlets and no change will be issued.

The Empangeni-based [in KwaZulu-Natal] father of a second-year biochemistry student at UCT queried the conditions with In Your Corner.

"Because thousands of students are affected, my daughter cannot always redeem the full value of the vouchers," he said. "They can't cook in their dorms so they opt for either fresh produce or prepared meals, so these are sold out first, leaving limited options for the rest. This means a portion of her meal funds goes to waste.

"Surely these vouchers should be valid for a longer time and the retailers should give change?'

The emergency vouchers aren't the prepaid vouchers that are governed by the Consumer Protection Act, which gives consumers the right to redeem them, in full, for three years.

UCT makes the rules regarding redemption because the voucher is specific - a meal replacement.

The university's communication department said as part of an "interim arrangement" the 17 chosen vendors in the area claim from the university the exact amount each student spends with their voucher each time, which is why no change is issued.

"The sole intention of the voucher is to ensure that students obtain meals for the day or days that the catering service does not function.

"Students have 48 hours to redeem the voucher because it is intended to provide a meal for them on the day the catering service is not in operation.

"The same applies to meals in residence - if students miss a meal they do not get a refund or an extra meal the next day."

And the no-change rule was intended to stop students using their food vouchers to buy non-food items, UCT said.

Incidentally, on top of its budgeted-for catering spend, UCT spent an extra R7.4-million in the past financial year on emergency vouchers for res students.

• Vouchers issued as part of a company's loyalty programme are also not subject to the CPA's three-year validity stipulation.