Invisible struggles: the reality of food insecurity among students at the University of the Western Cape

Food insecurity is a student-success, equity and well-being concern in South African higher education. At historically disadvantaged institutions, the issue is shaped by national patterns of inequality, the transition from school-based nutrition support to more fragmented post-school support, and the limits of using income or funding status alone as a proxy for basic needs. This study examines the prevalence and severity of food insecurity among students at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) and explores demographic and socio-economic patterns associated with vulnerability. An anonymous online census survey was administered to registered UWC students between March and September 2023. The survey combined demographic questions with the eight-item Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES). Responses were analysed descriptively and through Rasch-based FIES procedures to examine prevalence, item severity, residual correlations and comparability with the global reference scale. Among 655 valid FIES cases, 66% of respondents were classified as experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity; 49% were classified as severely food insecure. The item hierarchy indicated a progression from anxiety about food access and limited dietary variety to skipped meals, hunger and going a whole day without eating. Descriptive subgroup patterns showed higher mean food insecurity scores among students with no formal income and those relying on government grants, and higher mean scores among African and Coloured students than among Indian and White students. Here, ‘Coloured’ is capitalised and used in its specific South African context to denote a recognised population group and social identity, not in the derogatory sense the word may carry elsewhere. Food insecurity at UWC is not a marginal welfare issue but a basic-needs constraint on learning and participation. Institutional responses should therefore connect food relief, financial aid advising, psychosocial support, data-informed referral systems, and sustainable campus food initiatives, while recognising the structural limits of what a single university can resolve on its own.