There is/are

There is some food and two books. How come there is "there is" in stead of "there are"?


I am also wondering if this is right.
There is a good unversity, and a bad university.

NOT A TEACHER

The verb usually agrees with its nearest complement:

There is some food and two books.

There are two books and some food.

See this thread for more information.

"Instead" is one word, not two.