Students must get nutritious food

I AGREE with Marc Wegerif and Oluwafunmiola Adenyi that many tertiary level students face a food crisis, according to their letter of September 30.

However, in addition to poverty there are other factors which contribute to this situation.

Generations of students in university residences have been provided with meals on campus, but in the 1990s, at the then University of Natal, students went on the rampage demanding better food – coincidentally just as off-campus fast food outlets were proliferating.

As usual, the university capitulated to demands and that was the end of food security for students, as those who did not cook for themselves opted for more expensive and less nutritious fast foods with sugar content that probably contributes to the diabetes pandemic.

During a recent discussion about the student nutrition problem with friends I learnt that when they were shopping for food they were often approached by students who told them that they were not allowed to buy liquor with their food allowances so could my friends please buy the liquor and they would buy the equivalent amount of food for them.

They quite correctly refused, but presumably this strategy works with others less concerned about students substituting alcohol for food.

Surely it is obvious that tertiary institutions should simply supply nutritious food on campus free of charge for all students, in lieu of financial assistance to purchase their own food, which is probably a more costly option.

There are plenty of small business catering firms who would benefit from this option and student leaders could participate in decisions about the type of food, its nutritional value, and cost-effectiveness.

That would also assist them when they need to budget for food themselves when they leave the ivory towers.

MARY DE HAAS | Durban