Did you know that meal plans across multiple student residences at U of T will be increasing by $800 for next year? Despite students protesting and demanding affordable food all year, U of T has decided on massive price increases. These increases come at a time of particular financial strain for many of our students; job losses and economic precarity has resulted from pandemic-related economic upheaval and threatened the financial security of our student and staff populations. This is just one of our concerns, alongside concerns around food security, sustainability, and the corporatization of our campus food spaces.

We need more affordable and equitable options.

We still have many items in our dining halls priced over $8 per item, meaning students are consistently spending more than $24/day. We know our students are running out of money and we still have over a month of school left. The transition to a declining balance model has created food insecurity where none existed previously, and filled our dining halls with unhealthy and corporate foods. A recent dietetic report says students spend three hours per week to piece together healthy options to not exceed their budget; further, even the higher budget ($24/day) does not afford them the ability to enjoy any snacks, drinks, desserts, or additional meals. Food insecurity and a proliferation of unhealthy food items should not be a remote possibility at Canada’s largest and most prestigious academic institution.

Get rid of food from massive corporations and child labour!

As a result of the new dining hall model, students now produce massive amounts of waste. Despite a nation-wide ban on single use plastics, most items are sold in plastic containers. Reusable containers are the exception, the default are paper containers who are not recyclable due to food residues. Despite reusable possibilities, U of T provides 2,000+ packs of plastic cutlery per day across multiple residences. Our dining halls are now awash in corporate products that do not represent our values: Mars chocolate derived from exploitative child labour, cup noodles brimming with cheap processed fats and sodium, highly processed confectionary items totally lacking in nutrition to fuel our best and brightest. Despite the size and prestige of the university, we do not currently have data as to how much local food is used in our dining halls or the potential environmental and social impacts of our dining halls.

Student consultations should involve and prioritize students.

We have been pushing all year for student consultations around these changes. Food Services has loudly advertised the inclusion of Joshna Maharaj, a dedicated and passionate local food advocate who wrote an entire book on institutional food service. The only problem? She has never been formally hired as part of the consultation process and none of her suggestions have been formally accepted. We call for her to be formally hired and for her time to be respected and valued. We also call for the Request for Quote to be released. Students deserve to know the details of this consultation process and the rationale behind choosing an American company which cannot even visit any of our dining halls.

This is what we're asking for: 

• the reintroduction of an all-you-care-to-eat meal plans to eliminate food insecurity on campus
• a reversal of price increases for meal plans next year and if current model is maintained, further reductions on food prices throughout the Chestnut, NC, and Campus One
• elimination of exclusionary time slots for floors; instead, adding additional staff to maintain proper flow of student traffic
• the elimination of single use plastics throughout dining hall spaces
• the elimination of products which utilize exploitative child labour, and further integration of local and ethically sourced  products to better support local economies
• a dramatic reduction in unhealthy, corporate foodstuffs, and replacing these foods with different types of fresh fruit and vegetables
• an open and transparent approach to student consultation processes, one which disseminates information accurately and adheres to a more professional and equitable workplace and monitoring practices

• remuneration and formal inclusion of Joshna Maharaj into the consultation process moving forward

Thanks to everyone who has helped us in this process so far - together we can continue to make a more affordable, equitable, and sustainable food options at U of T!