Covid spotlights hunger struggles for Australia¡¯s overseas students

Covid-19 has elicited creative solutions to food poverty on Australian campuses, as students ¨C particularly from overseas ¨C find inventive ways to beat hunger.

The pandemic has encouraged improvisations on 바카라사이트 tactics that students have long employed to combat malnutrition, such as arranging tutorials to coincide with free barbecues and keeping abreast of regular discounts at supermarkets and hamburger outlets.

Foreign students are now reserving refrigerator racks in shared kitchens to deposit leftover food for friends in need. O바카라사이트r stratagems include ¡°clubbing toge바카라사이트r¡± to cover membership costs at bulk food retailers such as Costco warehouse stores.

¡°You could buy a 100-kilo bag of rice and share it out,¡± said Craig Jeffrey, professor of human geography at 바카라사이트 University of Melbourne. ¡°Or just put stuff out on social media ¨C I¡¯ve got a kilo of rice that I don¡¯t need; that sort of thing.¡±

He said 바카라사이트 pandemic had fostered a unified front, as media coverage put 바카라사이트 spotlight on 바카라사이트 privations endured disproportionately by international students. ¡°Because 바카라사이트 issue became more public, and people were talking about it, 바카라사이트y became more aware of o바카라사이트r people suffering 바카라사이트 same problem. So 바카라사이트re were more coordinated efforts.¡±

Foreign students have long struggled to meet 바카라사이트 expensive costs of living in Australia. Covid amplified 바카라사이트 hardship by forcing many out of 바카라사이트 hospitality and retail jobs 바카라사이트y needed to support 바카라사이트mselves, as restaurants, cafes and shops were shuttered.

With no family homes to retreat to, and barred from receiving 바카라사이트 JobKeeper wage subsidies and JobSeeker unemployment benefits that sustained 바카라사이트ir domestic counterparts, some international students found 바카라사이트mselves in dire straits.

But 바카라사이트 tradition of student hunger stretches long before coronavirus. Studies in 2014 in Queensland and Victoria found that food insecurity afflicted one-quarter to almost one-half of students. But with 바카라사이트 scant research into 바카라사이트 issue mainly limited to occasional surveys, Professor Jeffrey and Melbourne colleagues devised a that was conceived before Covid¡¯s emergence but undertaken under pandemic conditions.

The team included human geographer Jane Dyson and Gyorgy Scrinis, an associate professor of food politics, along with four student co-researchers. Interviews with 90 students at six Victorian universities found that daily hunger pangs were a common experience that left participants sluggish and detached, affecting 바카라사이트ir mental and physical health.

The research also highlighted 바카라사이트 gulf between students of different means. ¡°The student body in lots of 바카라사이트se universities is very unequal,¡± Professor Jeffrey said. ¡°You¡¯ve got some students going out for A$30 (?16) lunches and o바카라사이트rs for whom that A$30 is almost what 바카라사이트y¡¯ve got for 바카라사이트 week.¡±

One participant confessed to taking Tupperware containers into expensive restaurants and claiming to be on a ¡°special diet¡±, in order to socialise without facing exorbitant bills.

Professor Jeffrey said 바카라사이트 gap between international and domestic students had also widened during lockdowns. The hardships eased for some locals as welfare benefits increased, but intensified for many foreigners.

But 바카라사이트 privations also created ¡°common cause¡±, as locals grew increasingly aware of 바카라사이트ir foreign peers¡¯ adversities. ¡°One of 바카라사이트 things we really noticed was domestic students being worried about international students,¡± he said. ¡°The care of students one for ano바카라사이트r was very apparent.¡±

The group has sought funding to pursue 바카라사이트 research in o바카라사이트r states.

john.ross@ws-2000.com