Campus uproar as Chinese university bans food deliveries to boost health

A university in southeast China has ordered security guards to stop food delivery vehicles from entering the campus as it tries to clamp down on rubbish, traffic and unhealthy diets.

The ban triggered an online backlash among students and prompted a number of food delivery store owners to drive into the campus and distribute free meals in front of a canteen around noon on Monday, Shanghai-based news site Thepaper.cn reported. The owners were taken away by police for disrupting order, the report said.

Minjiang University in Fuzhou, Fujian province, announced the ban on Monday, saying there had been a number of accidents caused by food delivery workers riding their electric bikes and motorcycles too fast. The services were also so popular that they were causing a mountain of rubbish.

“In lunch or dinner peak hours, disposable meal boxes have piled up on dormitory and classroom floors and even on dustbin lids ... making these places dirty,” the university said.

There were also concerns about the health of students ordering the meals.

“A small number of students always stay at their dormitory and rely on the food delivery service if they want to eat,” it said. “They .. are not getting enough exercise outdoors and the state of their health is quite worrying.”