For most of this semester the students of Azim Premji University have been locked in a loop of negotiation and disappointment with the administration. All over what has begun to be known among the students as the ‘food issue’. Why ‘food issue’? Simply because there is no singular problem with the current food system at APU! The reality is that there are more than two years worth of problems that have plagued students studying at the isolated Bengaluru campus. Unfair pricing, poor quality, poor nutrition, regular discovery of foreign objects within food, and so much more. It has coincided with a perceived dip in the students’ overall health. We always know someone who has gotten sick or is constantly sick around us.
In the past, when students have attempted to bring up these issues with the food committee, they were dismissed with claims that the committee’s hands are tied and that a change cannot happen because of the contract that they sign with the vendors, ultimately resulting in the vendor’s profits. Many student complaints have been dismissed for similar reasons.
Well, the students finally had enough and organized a general body meeting to discuss the food issue. A group of students volunteered to conduct a survey to understand all the problems that encompassed the “food issue”. The survey received 796 responses reflecting the anger of the students regarding the food on campus. The survey helped the volunteers understand student demands at which point along with the Student Council they formulated a Student Charter with a list of basic demands to build a better food system.
After submitting the charter, the administration responded poorly, including a tone-deaf plan to raise tuck shop prices. This angered the student body, prompting them to organize an open house to address concerns. During the event, the university’s refusal to run its own mess and its dismissive attitude toward student questions about accountability became clear. The admin suggested students should simply more input, despite students having done so for over two years. Instead of institutionalizing the charter, the admin demanded specific student demands.
The Food Charter prepared by the Students of Azim Premji University,
submitted to the admin on 19th Feb, 2025
1. Quantity: The student having a meal (only breakfast, lunch, or dinner) should decide how much food they want to eat without paying extra.
2. Affordability: The prices set for the food served on campus, including MRP products, should be as low as possible, giving first priority to students’ ability to pay and the food scholarship amount sanctioned to students.
3. Quality: The food served on campus (excluding MRP products) must not be diluted with excess gravy, water, excess maida, etc. to compensate for quantity. The food should have adequate proportions of the substantial ingredients the dish ought to have. Adequate measures must be taken to root out hygiene issues in the food sourcing, preparation, and serving processes.
4. Nutrition: Each student’s nutritional and health needs must take priority when deciding on the food menu, ingredients, composition, and serving size. The food must contain adequate protein, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, fat, and minerals. In this spirit –
a. The APU food administration must take stock of students’ nutritional and health needs at the start of each semester to plan for the semester’s food requirements.
b. The APU food administration must, at random, audit the food once a month for its nutritional content and publish reports of the same – as done with food contamination audits.
c. This must be done in close collaboration with the campus Health Committee to keep track of students’ health concerns and devise menus accordingly.
5. Scholarship: The food scholarship amount should allow all scholarship holders to purchase the food they need in quantities they need. In this spirit –
a. The scholarship amount should account for food prices served on campus including items sold at MRP.
b. Food scholarships must not be cancelled once given to the student, unless there is proven fraud in the student’s financial documentation.
6. Participation: Students should be included in making decisions about vendors (if any), food pricing, food composition, and the food served on campus (including MRP products).
7. APU must run its own mess: Instead of an external vendor, APU, Bangalore should run its own mess with its own hired staff to better operate and manage the mess including cooking and quality control, if vendor-driven systems cannot meet the minimum standards set forth in this Charter.
The students responded with clear calls for more participation in food system decisions, transparency, and accountability. In a later meeting, the admin hinted at a vendor-run mess with a subscription model and increased student involvement in choosing vendors. They also considered expanding the food committee and improving grievance redressal processes. Due to student pressure, many demands are being considered, with more clarity expected at an upcoming Open House, proving that collective pressure from the students causes change.
The students’ struggle for transparency and accountability at APU is not new. The demand for these values has been ongoing for years, and the creation of the Student Council (SC) at the start of this academic year was a result of much effort. However, the SC has no real power to make structural changes; its role is mainly to organize events and act as a messenger between students and the administration. When students raise grievances, the admin redirects them to the SC, which is powerless to address the issues and may even side with the admin. This system serves the admin, allowing them to deflect duties and makig the SC a scapegoat. Protests highlight the disconnect between APU’s lofty motto of a ‘just, equitable, humane, and sustainable society’ and its practices, which they do not want. The scholarship agreement that every scholarship student signs, is the admin’s way of repressing any kind of dissent that arises from the students. While the Azim Premji Foundation sponsors meals in government schools, APU struggles to provide basic food. The food issue has sparked broader concerns about the shift from a philanthropic to a profit-driven model, with reduced scholarships and lack of financial transparency. This struggle is not an isolated one, it is part of a larger struggle where the students are demanding more accountability and transparency from the admin.
