Monday 22-04-2024 - 12:15

 

 

Last term, your President and Vice-President Welfare continued our efforts to secure funding for the weekly Supper Club and the LUSU Pantry - providing access to free food and hygiene essentials to students each week.  

 

 

As part of our efforts last term, we introduced an evaluative piece with a short form to fill out while registering for Supper Club, which has helped us evidence to the University the continued need for this type of Cost-of-Living Support.  

This has paid off as the University has agreed to funding an additional term of the Supper Club and Pantry projects!  

This great news comes after your President, Cerys Evans, was featured on BBC Question Time which was followed up with a visit to LUSU by ITV News. The broadcaster spoke to students about the effects of the Cost-of-Living Crisis, visiting the LUSU Pantry as well as Supper Club.  

“Students are the future of the economy. If we can’t eat, we can’t study. If we can’t afford our rent, we can’t live here.” – Cerys Evans, LUSU President.  

Last term, at Union Assembly, and as your Vice-President Welfare, I was able to give an update on the current state of the Cost-of-Living Crisis:  

"Students are struggling and have been for years as maintenance loans have not gone up with inflation. We hear heart-breaking stories each week of students struggling, and we want to be there for absolutely all of them - meeting them with the compassion and dignity they deserve.

“This term we have given out over a thousand portions of free food and hundreds more have accessed our pantry, yet 66% of those who attended Supper Club were unaware of the University Hardship Fund (LOAF). That is why I have met with the University, and impressed on them the impact the Cost-of-Living Crisis is having on the student body and the need to do more to tackle it. As a result, the University has agreed to work in partnership with us to better improve the messaging on financial support across the institution.  

"88% of Students said the Cost-of-Living Crisis was impacting their studies - as a Union we will continue to vouch for you and to strive for more Cost-of-Living Support and adjustments for students." – Josh Newsham, LUSU Vice President Welfare.  

We are taking our campaign nationally, with a conference bringing together Students’ Unions from across the country to strengthen and coordinate the National Student Cost of Living Campaign.  

This conference is a call to action: we have the research, we have the platform, we know students don’t have enough money, now let’s do something bold about it!