Zero Hunger for all
Zero Hunger
for all
Introduction
At Covenant University we are committed to addressing issues related to hunger for members within and outside her community. The university conducts programmes to identify students or members of the community who cannot afford the minimum regular meals on daily basis. This is so as to monitor the improvements made by the university in this regard since the programme began, as well as ensure equal access to food by all. On annual basis, records of students whose feeding expenses on campus were catered to by this scheme are documented for record purpose in order to monitor the success of the programme while taking into consideration areas needing improvement.
The scheme was implemented as a means of ensuring zero hunger on campus wherein students or members of the CU community help in gathering waste materials into several vessels that are weighed to ensure that the weight meets the desired minimum that qualifies for the issuance of meal tickets.
The food ticket reward for PET waste collection and sorting link
2.2.2. Access to Nutritious and Affordable Food
At Covenant University, there are several food spots including Cafeteria (1, 2 & 3), the Postgraduate Cafeteria, the butcheries and the Covenant University (CU) Guest House, where highly affordable, nutritious, tasty food and snacks are provided.
Diverse food options is made available at all cafeteria and food spots within the university community so as to accommodate all dietary needs and requirements of both staff, faculty, students and guests.
2.2.3. Ticketing and Hunger Management
Following the introduction of the waste to wealth program, Covenant University has able to manage hunger in the university community. In the year 2022, the number of persons within campus that were aided by this scheme via the issuance of meal tickets was about 30 students. In 2023, the number of persons that were issued these tickets rose by 53.3% owing to the increase in the number of persons who fell within the category for the year. In the year 2023, up until December , the number of persons in the zero hunger category had risen further by 68.4% and 7.02% over the data reported for the years 2021 and 2022 respectively. These are confirmations that the scheme has known a tremendous growth and is indeed affective. In addition, efforts are in place to take cognizance of the responses received from the beneficiaries of this scheme, however, such names are kept confidential owing to the fact that the university would not condone or allow room for any form of stigmatization of such persons.
2.2.4. Curbing Food Waste
Covenant University recognizes the importance of supporting the campus community and has implemented measures to manage food waste responsibly. Efforts are in place to collect food scraps, including leftover proteins, vegetables, and carbohydrates, in clean bags for safe repurposing as animal feed for domesticated animals like dogs, goats, and pigs outside the university community. This initiative contributes to improved animal nutrition and supports efforts toward achieving zero hunger.
Additionally, a semester-based awareness program educates the Covenant University community on the importance of reducing food waste and addressing hunger issues. The Waste to Wealth Initiative provides insights into food waste data gathered from the Guest House, university hostels, cafeteria, and suites.
Detailed food waste data show a breakdown by year:
- 2021: Total waste collected was 8,390.78 kg.
- 2022: Waste increased to 13,275.06 kg, a 58.21% rise from 2021.
- 2023: Waste decreased to 10,323.52 kg, reflecting a 22.23% reduction from the previous year.
2.2.5. Community Education and Awareness Programs
Some agricultural projects such as those of the West African Virus Epidemiology (WAVE) and the RCE-Ogun which are targeted at improving cassava, yam and potato as well as fish yields are sure ways of boosting cassava and fish production for the production of local meals such as fufu, garri and abacha (a local meal) and tasty soups for consumption.
Covenant University also operates a palm oil production factory which is used to process palm fruit from her Palm fruit plantation. This facility is also made available for use to farmers in the local community at a very subsidized rate.
Covenant University also has a palm plantation where palm trees for producing palm kennels from which palm oil is obtained are grown. The palm kennels are harvested as raw materials and beaten off the bunches. Thereafter the raw material undergoes digestion (to remove sludge), sterilization with steam, and then mechanical pressing where the oil is finally obtained and purified for storage and packaging. After packaging, the refined palm oil is then sent to all the cafeterias in the university for food production. This in turn helps to reduce the cost of food such that it is relatively affordable by all (students/staff/visitors) of low, middle and high income groups compared to situations where the oil is purchased from a local vendor. Table 2.2.5. consists of some properties of the produced palm oil from the Covenant University farm.
The University also encourages research publications that address issues related to curbing hunger, food wastage and sustainable farming practices.
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Characteristics
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Values & Units
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Density
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0.88 (at 50°C)
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Refractive Index
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1.44
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Quality of Solid Fat
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At 10 (55%), 20 (28%), 30 (11%), 40°C (6%), 50°C (0%)
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Slip Melting Point
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33°C - 40°C
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Fatty Acids
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Saturated fatty acids (50.1) monounsaturated fatty acids (35.7), polyunsaturated fatty acids C12:0 (0.4%),C14:0 (1.5%), C16:0 (0.5%), C16:1 (46.8%), C18:0 (3.8%), C18:1 (38%), C18:2 (8.0%), C20:0 (1)
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Mono-, di- and Tri-acylglycerols
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95%, 2.7%, 2.3% respectively
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Carotene content and crude palm oil colour
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0.15% which reduces to 0.05 after refining
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Iodine Value
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50.0–55.0 gram iodine/100 gram oil
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Saponification Value
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190–209 mg KOH/gram oil
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