Student performance linked to food security

THE South African constitution acknowledges food accessibility as a basic human right. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), food security is achieved when “all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for a healthy and active lifestyle.”

Although South Africa has been regarded as an upper middle-income country, the manifestations of pre-1994 inequalities are evident in economic imbalances which result in poverty and a lack of buying power to ensure food accessibility and availability.

While there is currently no accepted means of measuring food security in South Africa, at national level, South Africa boasts of a food secure status.

However, this is status is not the case at not at household and at individual level. At individual level, there are four key elements that determine food security which are; quantity of food (is it sufficient?), quality (nutrient variety and diet diversity), psychological acceptability (food preferences, anxiety about the amount and type of food available in the household or in stores and food selection/choices) and societal acceptability (morals, norms and values).

On World Food Day, we talk to twenty six-year-old Mbali Gwcela who holds a Masters Degree in Food Security about her investigation  food security among students living in university residences.

According to Gwacela, if students’ primary need (i.e. food) is not fulfilled, other functions related to their academic performance can be severely impeded. The root causes of food insecurity problems present a series of challenges for university students in their quest for a qualification.

It is therefore important to acknowledge the food insecurity as a potential hindrance to students’ academic performance as a correlation between academic performance and food insecurity has been established.

Gwacela says it is important to acknowledge the food insecurity as a potential hindrance to students’ academic performance as a correlation between academic performance and food insecurity has been established

“Within the South African socio-economic landscape, there are numerous factors that can be linked to causal factors of students’ food insecurity.

“Students’ financial background plays a major role in terms of their ability to pay for tuition and other university costs, and also impacts on their food security status.

South Africa’s higher learning institutions are challenged with a high dropout and failure rates which can be attributed to the inability of students to fund their studies owing to lack of finances for tuition fees and to cater for other needs, such as food and accommodation.

“For students who are fortunate enough to secure funding, their food insecurity is brought about by low financial literacy and lack of budgeting skills as they are more susceptible of spending money on appealing and luxurious items, rather than on necessities such as nutritious food.

“The environment in which students are associated with such as cafeterias and fast food stalls conveniently located on campuses contributes to food insecurity when students consume less nutritious food which negatively affects the utilization component of food security. Literature has also documented that food insecurity reduces both mental and physical health.

“We need to start talking about food security on different societal platforms because the issues it brings are cross-cutting. Awareness needs to be created about the severity of food insecurity in our higher learning institutions for it to be addressed effectively, and also for both the government and its citizens to reap the returns on investing in education,” said Gwacela.