The first-year Otago Polytechnic student found herself in financial difficulty after deciding to move flats.
Timing issues meant she had to pay rent on two flats for a week and hire a trailer to shift her possessions.
"I was pulling money out of a very short, very empty account to the point where I had to come and ask for assistance for food because I couldn't survive for that week," she said.
Having to seek help was "degrading", she said.
Ms Alexander (26), had a job in Australia but returned to New Zealand for personal reasons 18 months ago. She was on a benefit until enrolling at polytechnic and had no savings.
Trying to survive on a limited budget from week to week and adding tuition costs to her student loan was a "double stress" alongside completing assignments and exams, Ms Alexander said.
"I'm trying to get an education, like everyone else at Otago Polytechnic, and we're all struggling.
"We can't get a hand-out every five minutes.
"I know students who are literally living on Weet-Bix and rice because that's all they can afford because the cost of living is so high these days."
But Ms Alexander has not lost sight of her goal of finishing a bachelor of nursing degree by 2014 and becoming a nurse in a rural area.
Since her trip to the foodbank, Ms Alexander said she was trying to help other students in her class, making sure they knew there was advice and practical assistance available from the students' association if they needed it.
She said she hoped she would not have to ask for another foodbank parcel for herself.
"...But you can never say never."
