SPU cafeteria closed after complaints

STUDENTS at Sol Plaatje University demanded to be provided with KFC after the cafeteria was closed on Thursday afternoon after complaints were made about worms in their food.

They indicated that none of the students wanted to eat supper at the main campus after management closed the cafeteria.

“There are over 100 students at the Tauana residence and we would be expected to walk to the main campus and back.”

A parent stated that they had to regularly find a means of providing their children with money to buy their own food as the catering provided was “sub-standard”.

“On Sunday, they were served with rice and a piece of chicken. The worms are still crawling around in the food, which is either still raw or rotten. It's disgusting, why can't they give them food vouchers so that they can buy their own food at the supermarket like other universities?”

Students stated that they were served “uncooked rice, slimy chicken, semi-raw potatoes, oily mince and fatty Russians”.

“Every day it's the same menu, it is very unappealing. If we have money we survive on two-minute noodles that we boil in the kettle.”

It was pointed out that National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) students were allocated a meal allowance of up to R15 000 per annum.

The student representative council (SRC) also complained about the poor quality of the food earlier this year, where students related that the food was “bland, unappetising and not nutritious”.

The senior manager in the office of the vice-chancellor at Sol Plaatje University, Kashini Maistry, said that the university had contracted with local service providers to cater for students in the dining halls.

“They are required to provide food that is of a national standard, and we hold them to that undertaking.”

She stated that an inspection was conducted at the end of last year.

“We will have another within the next few weeks. Aside from these scheduled inspections, we also have ad-hoc inspections as needed.”

Maistry indicated that they had received “sporadic complaints” relating to the quality of the food at one dining hall.

“University management, together with the SRC, has worked to resolve complaints successfully. There have been no formal complaints about worms in the food. Such complaints are taken seriously by the university and will be investigated.”

She added that the university was considering a new catering model that would include the provision of food vouchers to students.