Victoria students complain about university food: ‘It’s raw meat, it’s just disgusting’

Students claim food served at a Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington is sometimes inedible. Photo / RNZ

By RNZ

Students at a Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington residential hall have described being served “raw” meat at meals.

The university has confirmed there have been 11 complaints received this year, largely relating to food quality.

Students spoken to outside the href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/victoria-university-takes-over-management-of-two-halls-of-residence/PMJK4EQCDWU4LGYLT7K3HA3Y4E/" target="_blank">Te Puni Village said they were resorting to ordering takeaways because they do not want to eat the food.

“It just doesn’t taste good, it’s just all canned, there’s nothing nutritional in it, it’s raw meat, it’s just disgusting,” said one woman who wanted to remain anonymous.

Another resident described the food as “just gross generally,” and that the “raw” meat they had been served included undercooked chicken and sausages as recently as last week.

The students said the food quality was not good enough given the amount of money they paid to stay at the hall.

Victoria University said its students have the right to expect good quality and nutritious food in the halls.

It said they catered for almost 2000 people using a centralised kitchen and worked hard to make sure the meals were delivered to a high standard.

The university’s acting chief operating officer Simon Johnson said there had been an increase in the number of students choosing to consume a meal in the past year.

“It’s difficult to please everyone, you know, we recognise that we are serving a range of students with a range of tastes, experiences, backgrounds and it’s not uncommon to field a handful of complaints.”

Johnson said the Ministry for Primary Industries visits the university halls a number of times a year.

The most recent inspection was on Wednesday, and no issues were found with the university’s food safety procedures.

He said the university addresses problems when it does not get it right and the food was assessed by a dietician and adheres to the Ministry of Health’s healthy eating guidelines.

- RNZ