Hungry Canterbury University students win bid for more food

Tuesday, 14 May 2024

“Does anyone have food? Some people are super hungry.”

That’s a text message often sent between University of Canterbury students staying in student accommodation after dark, when dinner time has finished - where second servings have not been allowed.

University Hall has 561 student residents living in its fully catered facility providing breakfast, lunch and dinner. It costs between $400-500 a week depending on the type of room, which is between $18,000 to $21,000 annually for the semester year.

Hungry students, some who stashed food in their rooms and others who have lost weight, have successfully appealed to serve their own portion sizes in a bid for more kai.

A two-week trial of a self-serve buffet began on Monday.

For breakfast there’s cereals, toast, yoghurt and fruits on the menu that students can help themselves to. It’s engineering student Sam Wright’s favourite meal of the day, because “you can have as much as you want”.

Whereas for lunch and dinner, students’ hunger had previously been at the mercy of the bearer of a ladle on the other side of a bain marie, meaning some felt they weren’t getting enough.

Industrial product design student Jonty Bothamley, 19, bought a sandwich machine and mini fridge for his room. He makes ham and cheese toasted sandwiches after dinner because he’s still hungry, after “always” scraping his plate clean.

“We weren't getting fed enough,” he said.

“The boys were getting quite hungry, after we had rugby training we'd come back … and we'd just get everybody's small serving sizes.”

Wright, 18, agreed the servings of protein weren’t fulling. He could easily eat “two or three” of the serving size provided, and instead fills up at the self-serve salad bar.

Because seconds weren’t allowed there’s a stash of noodles, packaged rice, tuna and muesli bars back in his room to feed his hunger later. He’d like to see a free toast station introduced that students can access 24/7.

“Everyone thinks that they can definitely eat more than what they serve you,” he said.

The new self-serve option was welcomed so students can pick “what you want, and what you don't want”, said law student Jack Gillespie, 18.

An anonymous parent told The Press her son lost 6kgs since living in the halls from February. He “went to bed hungry every night”.

There were often leftovers or bins “quite full” of wasted food at the end of meals, which is why it was “confusing” that students were not previously allowed seconds, said a first year student who did not give her name.

She said “there's a lot of wasted food that could be eaten,” particularly by the boys who often tried to secretly line up in duplicate lines for another helping.

“Usually the portion sizes are more suited for girls, I feel like the boys are always wanting seconds, always wanting more, they're trying to find different ways to get more food.”

It drove students to give feedback in a recent survey with an emphasis on food, answer regular QR code prompts for feedback, and try to “raise awareness” of the issue by having conversations with staff and the property manager.

In a letter to students seen by The Press, Unilodge, the student accommodation provider, said the change would start on Monday.

“UniLodge and the UCSA [University of Canterbury Students' Association] have listened to your feedback… we will be transitioning from served meals to a self-serve buffet for a trial period of two weeks,” the statement said.

“This trial presents us with an opportunity to collectively reduce food wastage and promote mindful consumption, contributing to a more sustainable campus environment.”

The letter encouraged students to “start with smaller portions, and if you're still hungry, feel free to grab a second plate”.

A UniLodge spokesperson said catering was provided by the UCSA, who are “experienced in catering to large numbers”.

University Hall always had “elements” of self-service in its food service, they said. Feedback was “both welcomed and encouraged” and students had multiple channels to do so, including anonymously.

“We continuously review our offerings in line with student feedback and with a view to operate a sustainable food service,” they said.

Student numbers at the university set a record for the second year running in 2024. 22,205 students were enrolled, an all-time high and 5% more than last year.

More than 3400 applications were received for this year’s intake of student accommodation, for whichthere are around 2700 places. Costs range between $11,578 to $26,083 per year for a place in one of the university’s 10 halls.

The UCSA was approached for comment.