Published November 22, 2012
by iris_author
On November 7th the York Federation of Students (YFS) Task Force on Campus Food hosted a Town Hall on Campus Food to try and address the concerns that many students have about campus food options (see the latest edition of Excalibur for an update on that meeting – Vol. 47 Iss.13). There is growing concern about a lack of easily accessible healthy options for students to eat whether they just come to campus for classes or whether they live on campus.
In 2009 IRIS conducted an extensive survey on the availability of these food services and the kinds of options available for consumption on campus, and published its findings in a report titled “Examining Campus Food Sustainability at York University”. The aim of this report was to generate some recommendations for creating a more healthy and sustainable food system here on campus. Some of the recommendations that this report delivered included more student-run independent vendors that are supported by University subsidies, a coordinated business plan for all of the separate food delivery agencies, and the improvement of outreach and communication to the York community regarding the range of food services on campus.
The York Federation of Students is also conducting a survey to put together a list of recommendations that will be delivered to the York University administration. These recommendations will no doubt be of a similar nature. While it is great to see students engaging in food issues on campus, and wanting to define their own food landscape, this work has been done already in a comprehensive and efficient fashion. Perhaps YFS should be focusing their resources on an assessment of whether the recommendations made by IRIS have been addressed by the administration and how we can move forward together.
In fact York has tried to improve on their outreach to students about healthy options on campus by adopting the Eat Smart guidelines produced by Toronto Public Health and by creating a guide to eating healthy on campus. As well, Food Services has recently launched a new website with a directory that is easy to search. While many food types can be found in the search (including Halal, vegan, etc.), some remain harder to find (gluten free, Kosher). They have also implemented a Freshii location, as well as some homemade ethnic options at some cafeteria locations (including Indian, Mexican and Asian), as well as a host of other changes to improve the food experience on campus.
York University has a history of alternative food vendors that have had a presence on campus. Unfortunately none of them seem to last very long due to fiscal constraints, heavy competition from fast food vendors, or terminated contracts. York had a short-lived farmer’s market in 2010 that quickly came up against a bureaucratic tidal wave of food safety concerns and has not been able to resurface, despite the hard work of the people at Regenesis@York. In its place remains the Good Food Market, but these occur a significant walk away, in the Jane/Finch community.
York also has a history of student-run sustainable food vendors. The only one that still exists seems to be the Lunik Co-op on the Glendon campus. There is also a little known initiative in the works to create a green campus cooperative in the HNES building. It is projects like these that need to be supported and expanded instead of expending energy polling students. As students we need to improve on creating an institutional memory so that we have something to build on when we are frustrated about how something works on campus. As one of the largest universities in Ontario we have the power to mobilize around issues that are important to us. YFS is an amazing resource for generating that mobilizing power and I believe that we could make some significant changes if there was a sense of unity and collective action that was able to form.
The fact that York is situated in an area that is generally known to have poor access to food sources (i.e. lack of grocery stores, other than Food Cents, which is outside of the core campus) means that York also has the potential to be a food hub for the surrounding community. If a grocery store was able to fit into the York campus not only would this be a benefit to students, but also to the surrounding community. In fact, the York University Secondary Plan, approved by City Council on December 4, 2009, states that a grocery store in Mixed Used Areas “C” would be “permitted and encouraged”. However, the ongoing efforts by the York University Development Corporation to update York’s Master Plan (York’s third, and due to be completed this year), do not mention concrete plans for a grocery store, but rather just mention the idea from community consultations).
Everyone can relate to food issues somehow because it is a major concern for us all and one that effects how we eat, how healthy we are, and how we relate to our built environment. We have the power to shape this environment and to shape how we eat.
IRIS is a good resource at York University for students wanting to maintain that institutional memory and build on good food work that is already underway on campus. If you find yourself wanting to learn more about food issues and how the situation at York fits in to the broader food system come and check out the second annual Focus on Sustainability Film Festival: Food in February.
Posted in: Blogs | Students Speak
