Poor students forced to queue for their only two meals a day
'Hidden hunger' at varsities as even middle class struggle
A first-year student waits in a queue at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) Kingsway campus for a plate of samp and beef stew.
The 18-year-old is among 16,000 students who receive breakfast and lunch daily through the university's meal assistance programme. This is up from 12,000 last year. Those receiving free meals include 3,000 students from middle-class families battling to finance their children's studies.
The university gave NGO Gift of the Givers R15-million this year to provide meals to students for 273 days.
Stephen Devereux, of the Centre of Excellence in Food Security at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), told a colloquium organised by the institution's Dullah Omar Institute last week that there was a crisis of "hidden hunger" among students at campuses across South Africa.
'FRIGHTENING' POVERTY
Both the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) confirmed to the Sunday Times this week that they were investigating the scope and extent of food insecurity on campus.
Rhodes University vice-chancellor Dr Sizwe Mabizela described poverty among students as "really frightening".
Several other universities are also providing meals and monthly grocery packs. Some of the programmes include:..
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