Oprah’s school is a prison! That’s how some parents described Oprah Winfrey’s new leadership school for girls in South Africa. They told local newspapers that they are allowed almost no contact with their daughters, who are made to eat limited, Oprah-approved meals, reported the New York Post.

“Their diet is fruit, yogurt and sandwiches,” a distraught foster mother told a South African newspaper. “Surely this isn’t a prison or an institution.”

Parents also complain that they are only allowed to visit their daughters once a month. There is also unrest because students are only allowed to call or receive mail from their families on weekends. Visits also have to be approved more than two weeks in advance But Winfrey’s camp says that although parents are allowed to bring their children food when they visit, educational materials like books are encouraged instead.

The talk show queen opened the school earlier this year, taking only 150 of the 5,000 students who applied. Her representative said none of the issues cropped up in a meeting between parents and school administrators two weeks ago . News24 also reported that a satellite meeting between Winfrey and the parents was abruptly cancelled last week.  But Winfrey’s camp said no teleconference or in-person meeting with the parents and guardians was scheduled for last week.