It has come to our attention that Colgate intends to continue to limit the hours of Dining Halls throughout campus, an intention that fails to address public health concerns (food insecurity) on campus, in the town of Hamilton, and beyond.

Colgate requires that all employees and students sign a Commitment to Community Health. According to its site, this is: “in order to continue offering in-person residential education. The people of the village, town, and county rely on it for employment and economic health.” Every student and employee of Colgate recognizes the importance of community health, and as shown through the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act passed by congress and signed into law on March 27, 2020 (from which Colgate accepted and distributed funds) the federal government does as well. We ask that the institution directly matches these commitments when addressing the matter of food insecurity. In the spirit of community health, successful in-person residential education, and the economic health of the people of the village, town, and county, we address the following letter and subsequent list of demands.

Many first-year and sophomore students live in dorms that do not have kitchens, and this fact is often rationalized by the fact that they live in proximity to Frank Dining Hall, or the Coop, and are required to be on the Premiere Plan of meal plan options, which includes “unlimited access” during hours of services at locations such as Frank Dining Hall and the Coop, as well as one swipe per meal period at Donovan’s Pub and Chobani at the Hieber Café. However, this was compromised throughout Colgate’s reopening in the 2020-2021 academic year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as meals were delivered on a specific schedule and dine-in services were largely unavailable and later limited. With limited hours, especially at Frank (used to be 24/7, now 10:00pm close) and the Coop (used to be 10:00pm, now 8pm close), many students were unable to access food on campus during late night hours. Furthermore, many dining locations in town also close around 10:00pm, many of which are inaccessible to students as they lack late night delivery services. As of recently, this includes “Slices”, a pizza shop in downtown Hamilton well known for its delivery hours ending at 02:00am. With limited food storage and cooking spaces for first-years, sophomores, and the Community Leaders (upperclassmen) who live with them, these demographics of students have been made food insecure even with what is commonly referred to as the “unlimited” dining plan.

This issue of food insecurity due to limited hours only becomes more extreme when compounded with intersecting aspects of student or employee life. Many students have class or labs or on-campus jobs (especially work study which falls within financial aid) that go to even past 10pm, which would leave them hungry after late night shifts. Some community members also have early mornings. With classes starting as soon as 07:55am, and Trudy Fitness Center opening at 06:00am, unavailability of dining services at these times when students need fuel to function or recover can become inconvenient at best and dangerous at its worst. Athletes returning from early morning/ late night practices or competitions (especially away-games) would especially have this issue. Members of faculty and staff would also have less access to food after late night work hours considering the aforementioned unavailability of food downtown. This issue is especially heightened during exam weeks when students are likely to stay up late in preparation. Furthermore, community members who go through periods of fasting such as during Ramadan (during which members of the faith of Islam eat only before dawn and after dusk), would face much more food insecurity especially as it relates to religiously compliant food options (i.e. halal, kosher options). On weekends, and even (weeknights) many students are involved in party culture downtown and on campus which often includes consumption of alcohol. With the presence of late night drinking culture that goes until around 02:00am, lack of access to food can become a very immediate health and safety issue that can result in ambulatory calls and hospital trips.

According to a study done as of 2018 by Ahlea Raemer ‘18, first generation college students in their Junior or Senior years at Colgate are at a significantly higher risk of being food insecure, as well as students whose annual family income falls below $100,000. With this in mind it is also important to acknowledge the need for food accessibility available to upperclassmen as well as first-year and sophomore students. In the 2019-2020 academic year, the office of the Dean of College included the Food Security Working Group composed of faculty and staff and was later disbanded upon the closing of the university due to COVID-19, which is unfortunate as food insecurity has only increased since. To our knowledge, the group has never reconvened.

We acknowledge that dining services on campus are often short-staffed at night, which contributes to the perceived effectiveness of having shorter hours. However, we believe that there are accommodations that can be made. We demand that Colgate commit to incentivize Chartwells workers presence on campus. We demand that Frank Dining Hall remains open for 24 hours 7 days a week. We also demand the re-establishment of the Food Security Working Group through the office of Dean of the College. We declare that one-third of this group must be students who as a result of this position are paid through work study, two-thirds of which are first generation, international, LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and of other historically underrepresented identities on campus (many of whom face food insecurity themselves). In the spirit of a strengthened relationship between Colgate University and the extended community (the village of Hamilton, county of Madison, and beyond), we declare that one-fourth of the group must be non-campus community members who are dedicated to and versed in the personal experience and systematic knowledge of progressive food ways. This re-established Food Security Working Group is not to be a “think tank” on food security but instead must have actionable steps that are followed-through with each year, and must have the utmost transparency and accountability with all community members. For the sake of ensuring subsequent action this group must utilize a working definition of food security defined by its constituents, including, but not limited to: access to healthy, affordable (x percentage of individual's annual income), ethnically/ culturally/ religiously appropriate food within an x walking / x public transportation radius from an individual's residence from sources that uphold x, y, z labor and ethics standards of harvest, processing and waste treatment of said food ways. Additionally, Colgate (whether through the Food Security Working Group or otherwise) must create and strengthen ongoing partnerships with local organizations, and acknowledge mutual interdependence. Colgate must also commit and follow through to establish a regional foodways residential education alliance among all higher education institutions and regions with campus residents, and that Colgate commits to being a cooperative partner in this initiation and ongoing endeavor.

Comprehensive List of Demands:

1. Frank Dining Hall maintains 24-hour service 7 days a week
2. Commitment to incentivize Chartwells workers presence on campus, stands in solidarity with Chartwells staff union demands
3. Re-establishment of the Food Security Working Group with the following requirements:
   
   • 1/3 of the working group are Colgate students. Said students are paid through work study for their positions in the group
   • 1/4 of the working group are non-campus community members who are dedicated to and versed in the personal experience and systematic knowledge of progressive food ways
   • partnerships with local organizations are made and strengthened, mutual interdependence is recognized
   • transparency and accountability upheld, actionable steps followed through with each year
   • dynamic working definition of food security defined by its constituents to be utilized [includes, but is not limited to, access to healthy, affordable (x percentage of individual's annual income), ethnically/ culturally/ religiously appropriate food within an x walking/ x public transportation radius from an individual's residence from sources that uphold x, y, z labor and ethics standards of harvest, processing and waste treatment of said foodways]
4. Commitment and follow through to establish regional foodways residential education alliance among all higher education institutions and regions with campus residents, and that Colgate commits to being a cooperative partner in this initiation and ongoing endeavor

Again, this letter comes in acknowledgement and support of community health, including Colgate students, faculty and staff, and Hamilton residents, and other community members. This includes, but is not limited to, the physical, mental, spiritual, and economic health of all members involved that supports and is supported by the residential educational institution that is Colgate University.