The University of Cape Town (UCT), in line with its Vision 2030 and mission to “unleash human potential to create a fair and just society,” has taken tangible, compassionate action to confront food insecurity among its students. Vision 2030 commits UCT to pursuing sustainability, equity, and transformative impact within and beyond the campus. Ensuring that no student goes hungry directly advances this vision, recognising that access to nutritious food underpins student success, well-being, and dignity. Throughout 2024, UCT strengthened and expanded several coordinated initiatives—ranging from direct food provision and voucher systems to public fundraising and infrastructure partnerships—that collectively address hunger as both a social-justice and educational-equity concern.
- Food Sovereignty Programme — monthly grocery packs for students
UCT’s flagship Food Sovereignty Programme, coordinated through the Division of Student Affairs, provides monthly grocery packs to registered students who are unfunded, underfunded, or facing temporary food insecurity. UCT News reports across 2024–2025 describe ongoing calls for donations and highlight the programme’s reach. By mid-2024, the initiative was supporting approximately 900 students, and by year-end had distributed close to 10 000 grocery packs. These packs are assembled through donations from staff, students, alumni, and external partners, forming a vital safety net for vulnerable learners.
- Meal vouchers and residence meal access
Students who hold UCT residence or catering plans can access meals via the Pay & Connect system—an app and online portal that allows discrete and dignified meal-voucher requests. Vouchers are redeemable at dining halls or participating campus food outlets, ensuring that students without immediate funds can still access nutritious meals. Guidance for this system remained active and current throughout 2024.
- Small-scale feeding supports and equipment donations
UCT’s feeding initiatives receive both in-kind and monetary support from internal and external donors. In 2024, for example, the Strategic Fuel Fund donated a refrigerator to the student feeding programme—enhancing food-storage capacity—and campaigns such as UCT Day 2024 and alumni phonathons raised funds to sustain the Food Sovereignty Programme. These examples show an institution actively mobilising resources and partnerships to maintain essential student-support infrastructure.
- Institutional acknowledgement and coordination
UCT formally recognises food insecurity as a barrier to student success. A Food Security Task Team under the Division of Student Affairs continues to coordinate campus responses, while official communications from the Vice-Chancellor and UCT News routinely highlight student hunger as a strategic concern. Regular fundraising appeals—such as UCT Day 2024 and the Annual Phonathon—explicitly direct proceeds to food-support programmes, reflecting leadership commitment at the institutional level.
- Residence meal arrangements
According to UCT’s 2024 Residence Handbooks, certain residence categories provide catered meal plans, reducing food insecurity for residents. The same documents outline voucher and scan-in mechanisms for meal access, administered through the Pay & Connect system, thereby embedding equitable food access in residence policy.
- External partnerships and community support
The Food Sovereignty Programme is sustained through broad community engagement:
- Strategic Fuel Fund: Donated refrigeration equipment for student feeding infrastructure.
- UCT Staff, Alumni, and Organisations: Provide regular “cash or kind” contributions.
- UCT Fund (USA): Enables international donors and alumni abroad to support food programmes financially.
- Media Coverage: Articles such as “Student Hunger Crisis Spurs Vital UCT Intervention” (Health For Mzansi, 2024) highlight collaboration between students, staff, alumni, and external stakeholders to sustain the initiative.
Impact and relevance to the SDGs
UCT’s comprehensive response to food insecurity advances several UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):
- SDG 2 – Zero Hunger: Direct provision of nutritious food to vulnerable students.
- SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-Being: Improved nutrition and stress reduction enhance mental and physical health.
- SDG 10 – Reduced Inequalities: Equitable access to food enables underfunded students to participate fully in academic life.
- SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goals: Active collaboration with donors, NGOs, alumni, and corporate partners.
Through these coordinated 2024 initiatives, UCT demonstrates its commitment to creating a just, inclusive, and sustainable university community—one where every student has the nourishment required to thrive academically and personally.