Hungry for knowledge, hungry for bread: Realising the right to food of students in South African tertiary institutions

Abstract

Many of the disadvantaged groups which are impacted by a high burden of poverty and are thereby food insecure in South Africa, have over the years received attention from the government, resulting in many interventionist schemes to guarantee their right to food. These include for instance, social grants for children, the disabled and the elderly, as well as school meals for primary and high school students. Unfortunately, one of such groups has hitherto received little or no attention -that is, students in South African tertiary institutions. Food insecurity among students in tertiary institutions links back to the trajectory of poverty- students in tertiary institutions are food insecure mainly because they come from homes which are food insecure. This is proven in the disparity between the numbers and severity of food insecure students in historically advantaged universities and historically disadvantaged universities in South Africa.