Students in the United States are giving a new meaning to bringing home the bacon.

For students worried about not being able to afford tuition fees, a university is allowing them to pay part of the debt in pigs rather than in cash.

In this barter scheme at Lindenwood University in Missouri, the pigs are slaughtered and fed in the form of sausages and bacon to the students in the university restaurant.

Lindenwood wants to remain accessible to young people from farming families who might otherwise struggle to pay fees.

"This is a heartfelt gesture to help farming families," the university's spokesperson told BBC News Online.

The families are invited to bring their pigs to an approved processing plant - and the university will pay for the animals to be slaughtered and will then take the meat for use by university caterers.

Food for thought

The value of this meat is deducted from students' fees.

Many of Lindenwood's students are from farming families and the university says that this is a practical way of making higher education more affordable.

As well as pigs, the university says that it will accept other livestock, including cattle, in this food-for-tuition barter system.

It will also consider taking other food products instead of money, as long as they can be used by the university.

The university says it has received a number of inquiries about the scheme from prospective students.