The Students Union at UCC say they are heartbroken after having to turn students away when their food bank ran out of food within an hour of opening.
The SU President Asha Woodhouse tweeted the news just before 6pm last evening and asked the Higher Education Minister Simon Harris if 'this is the UCC and country we are supposed to be proud of?"
The food bank was opened after it was revealed that students had been turning to Cork Penny Dinners for help in recent weeks.
The Students Union Welfare Officer at the college says students have been contacting her on a daily basis over the last couple of weeks looking for emergency funds to help pay for food,
Caoimhe Walsh says the students are not confined to those renting in the city, she says many who are living at home are facing a tough uphill financial battle to.
Speaking to RedFM News Caoimhe says it's tough listening to people criticising students when she sees what they are going through first hand.
"I think it's really unfair that all students get painted with the same brush.
"I don't; like when people say that, it's really upsetting as not everybody is the same.
"It's infuriating when people give out about students - 'oh they've money for this, of course they can't afford food'.
"That's just not fair.
"A lot of students just can't afford food. We're setting up this foodbank because students actually cannot afford to eat.
"It's really frustrating when people try to shine a negative light and say 'oh they're always out'. Not all students are always out."
