THRIVE ISSUE 6 DECEMBER 2025 20 Partnership Tackles Student Hunger Collen Maepa, Communications Coordinator, UJ Sport & Chef Douglas Momberg, Head Chef, The Kerzner@UJ Statistics South Africa data confirms that the country is experiencing high levels of food and nutrition insecurity, driven by unemployment, poverty, and the rising cost of living. This crisis disproportionately affects students in higher education. However, institutions are ramping up initiatives aimed at guiding and advocating for students to adopt healthier lifestyles and make better choices in terms of the dietary choices. “Food insecurity is a leading global challenge. Students often drop out due to hunger. We must address both undernutrition and overnutrition— such as obesity from high-fat, high-sugar diets. “ ~ Prof Michael Rudolf, Director, Center for Ecological Intelligence (CEI) UJ What’s Cooking Parallel to the seminar, the initiative added more flavour to the mix, joining forces with UJTV to launch an online cooking show named UJ What’s Cooking. The show features easy-to-follow recipes and dishes, aimed as demonstrating how students and the broader community can transform simple affordable ingredients into mouthwatering meals Click Here To Watch The Different Episodes As part of the university’s Healthy Campus Program, teams from Sport, Tourism and Hospitality, and the Center for Ecological Intelligence collaborated with one of South Africa’s most iconic brands, Lucky Star to host two seminars aimed at addressing the urgent issue of food insecurity and poor nutrition knowledge among university students and the broader community. Held at the university’s premier banqueting and conference venue, TheKerzner@UJ Bunting, the first seminar was titled: Nutrition Education: Sustainability Through Shared Knowledge and Realities. Informed by research by amongst others, the Food Evolution Research Laboratory, the event brought together national and international experts to unpack practical and sustainable solutions to combat hunger and rising food costs.
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