By Suné Coetzee
The #Move4Food initiative provides emergency food relief to students at Stellenbosch University (SU) who experience food insecurity. Run by the university’s Development and Alumni Relations office, this initiative offers food vouchers, sponsored meals and food parcels in partnership with student residences and the Department of Social Work. The initiative is part of the broader #GivingMaties campaign – a 40-day fundraising drive that runs annually from 5 March to 15 April and includes other student support causes like #GradMe and #EndPeriodPoverty.
“You can see the relief,” says Viwe Benxa, Alumni Participation Co-ordinator at SU. “There’s always a feeling of pressure being less.”
Benxa and #GivingMaties ambassador Alwin Mabuza work on the fundraising side of #Move4Food. The initiative started as a student‑led campaign in 2018, at the backdrop of the #FeesMustFall movement. Today, staff and students work together to provide emergency food relief. Last year, over 700 students received help through food vouchers, sponsored meals and food parcels.
However, the need is constant. Mabuza says, “Students are vulnerable during specific times: during welcoming, because NSFAS hasn’t paid out [and] at the end of the year, when funding has been depleted. NSFAS only pays until October – what happens in November and December?”
The campaign runs from 5 March to 15 April. As of 25 March, R158 286 has been raised through 156 fundraisers and 409 donors, according to the official #GivingMaties GivenGain page.
This year, residences have gone all-in. Harmonie kicked off the Dunk Your Prim challenge – where prims are dunked in water to raise awareness – with a pledge of 100 packets of instant noodles. The challenge quickly spread through nominations. Monica dunked their prim and pledged 50 non-perishables. Nemesia, turning 50 this year, followed by dunking their prim and adding a “50 items for 50 years of Nemesia love” twist to stock their Inkathalo Pantry. The pantry sits in Nemesia’s Wellness Room, a space where students go to pray and rest. Nemesia then nominated Erica, Serruria, Dagbreek, and Helshoogte to keep the momentum going.
Even faculties are involved. A delegation from the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences cycled the Cape Town Cycle Tour on 8 March, raising funds for #Move4Food.
For students too embarrassed to ask for help, the message is clear. “Do not suffer in silence,” says Mabuza. “There’s no need to be ashamed about need. Need is need.” Students can reach out anonymously via supportus@sun.ac.za, call the social worker at 021 808 4994, or email Bridge The Gap at bridgethegap@sun.ac.za. Everything is confidential.
Professor Nico Koopman, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Social Impact, Transformation and Personnel, says, “We strive to embody compassion. We live it. We make it tangible. We want to make hunger history at [SU] and everywhere.”
To donate or get involved: www.givengain.com/team/giving-maties-stellenbosch-university
