For more than 22 years, Innis Cafe in Innis College at the University of Toronto has provided freshly-made, healthy food to the community of students, faculty and staff at the university and to the surrounding Annex community. Owners the Shahidis (Gunash, Ali and their son Damon) and a team of staff bring doctoral-degree-level expertise in food science and years of experience of customer service to serve up some of the campus' best food along with the warmth and friendliness that have made Innis Cafe a beloved institution for many. At a reasonable price, Innis supplies balanced meals made with fresh ingredients in the on-site kitchen, to as many as 200 customers a day who choose this instead of corporate-manufactured packaged and pre-made food. Innis Cafe's versatile catering service also provides food for events across campus, with regular catering clients including the University of Toronto's Governing Council, the Munk School, Rotman Commerce, the iSchool, and numerous academic departments. 

Starting 15 June 2023, however, all of this is set to change. With planned construction coming up at Innis College, Innis Cafe has been asked by administrators to move out of the space they currently work from, six weeks before their current contract ends. As yet, the university has not offered them an alternative space that has an on-site kitchen. Without this crucial kitchen infrastructure, Innis Cafe will be unable to continue the tradition of home-style food that they uniquely provide on campus and to continue working with catering clients.  

As customers and catering clients of Innis Cafe, we ask that the University of Toronto administration:

- provide the Cafe with an alternative space that includes an on-site kitchen, to allow them to continue cooking food freshly for customers and catering

- recognize that Innis Cafe occupies an important place in on-campus provision of fresh and healthy food to the university community