“Very sad day for the country” as UCC food bank runs out of food in under an hour

"Heartbreaking to not have enough and to see so many students experiencing food insecurity."

Students at University College Cork (UCC) have been turned away on Wednesday after a food bank set up by the college ran out of food in less than an hour. The Student Union at the college announced recently that they were "disheartened" to have to set up the food bank for the first time in two years with many students facing financial strain and renting problems. The UCC Student Union President said that the fact they ran out of food so quickly is "heartbreaking". In a tweet, Asha Woodhouse penned: "50 minutes in we’ve run out of food and have had to turn students away. "Heartbreaking to not have enough and to see so many students experiencing food insecurity. "Is this the UCC and country we are supposed to be proud of?" she asked, tagging Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris in the tweet. "In less than an hour the UCCSU food bank has had over 100 students come and we have run out of food twice," Caoimhe Walsh, Welfare Officer of the UCC Students Union added. "It is a very sad day for the country," she said, tagging Leo Varadkar, the Taoiseach and Minister Harris. "When are things going to change? We need action NOW," she continued.