University Challenge: How students and universities are managing meals during the pandemic
The Food Programme
BBC
4.4 • 977 Ratings
🗓️ 8 November 2020
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Universities have become big business in the UK in recent decades - educating around 2.3 million students, with an annual operating expenditure of over £37 billion at the last count.
But since the start of this academic year, we’ve heard massively mixed reports on how universities are coping; not least, with managing food provision.
In a term when COVID-19 has put new and unexpected pressures on existing frameworks the response from institutes has been hugely varied, from teams rising to the challenge and delivering innovative meal solutions, to “disgraceful profiteering". The situation's prompted student petitions, protests and even rent strikes.
So what has this unprecedented clash of virus, education and money taught us about the UK’s centres of learning – and what lessons have they learned, to help things run more smoothly next year?
Presented by Sheila Dillon. Produced in Bristol by Lucy Taylor.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | You don't need us to tell you there's a general election coming. |
| 0:04.7 | So what does it mean for you? |
| 0:06.7 | Every day on newscast we dissect the big talking points, the ones that you want to know more about. |
| 0:12.4 | With our book of contacts, we talk directly to the people you want to hear from. |
| 0:16.8 | And with help from some of the best BBC journalists, |
| 0:19.5 | we'll untangle the stories that matter to you. |
| 0:23.0 | Join me, Laura Kunsberg, Adam Fleming, Chris Mason and Patty O'Connell for our daily |
| 0:28.4 | podcast. |
| 0:29.4 | Newscast, listen on BBC Sounds. BBC Sounds. BBC Sounds, music radio podcasts. |
| 0:38.0 | Hello, you've downloaded a podcast of BBC Radio 4's The Food Program. |
| 0:43.0 | Welcome to our world, from cooking to culture, politics to pleasure. |
| 0:48.0 | We hope you enjoy it. |
| 0:49.0 | I mean if you put yourself in the position of a student who just went through the A-Level scandal, who fought for their grades, fought to get to university, |
| 0:57.0 | Upps and moves across the country leaves their support networks, their family, their friends, everything they've literally known, and within two days gets locked down for weeks. |
| 1:05.0 | It's actually insulting to suggest that adequate preparation was done. |
| 1:10.0 | We are in a really unusual situation. We are conducting work we have not done before. |
| 1:19.6 | If you look at what is actually happening with the universities for instance they have done a great job |
| 1:24.0 | I think in getting their virus under control. |
| 1:26.8 | So at the peak of isolation we were supporting around 1500 students at any one time. |
| 1:31.8 | We've seen some universities disgracefully profiteering |
| 1:35.2 | by selling students who have no other access to food deliveries, incredibly |
| 1:40.0 | expensive, really substandard food packages. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.