MBALI MKHITHI
From 10-11 October, the UP SRC, in collaboration with academic representatives from various faculty houses continued with a food drive, “One can make a difference”, in the Graduate Centre. The initiative, that begun on 24 September had House Humanities, EBIT, NAT house, Law house, Commercii, the Theology, Education, and Health faculties taking part.
They collected non-perishable food items to donate to the Student Nutrition and Progress Programme (SNAPP) that would then distribute the items to students who face a food crisis. SNAPP is an organisation for day students who do not stay at any UP formal residence and are in need of food. These students are connected to SNAPP either through referrals or walk-ins. They complete an application form and food parcels are then handed out to qualifying students every Tuesday and Friday of the academic year. The criteria used as a basic guideline for distributing the food parcels are namely that the students must not be residing at a UP formal residence (day students) or students that are receiving a minimal amount for living allowance from NSFAS or any other additional funding. The SRC Treasurer-General Duane van Wyk explained, “We identified that there was an extreme crisis for students needing food and we also identified that feeding yourself on campus through the various options we have like the student centre and Tribeca is far more expensive and most students cannot afford those.”
SNAPP representative, Priscilla Malaza said, “The SNAPP office will support the drive and initiative in order to change the lives of the needy students for the better. The SNAPP office will also tap into this initiative to better the daily life circumstances.” According to the SRC, the initiative is a long-term plan that they intend to sustain and grow further. The next collection will take place on Wednesday from 10-15:00 in the Piazza.
Image: UP SRC Facebook Page