The Daily Tar Heel
Printing news. Raising hell. Since 1893.
Thursday, March 28, 2024 Newsletters Latest print issue

We keep you informed.

Help us keep going. Donate Today.
The Daily Tar Heel

Letter: Come out to support the table, UNC

TO THE EDITOR:

I write to call attention to a serious concern regarding our campus food system:

UNC currently lacks an accountable and transparent process for purchasing real food.

As the central public institution of North Carolina, it is a part of our mission to educate the students of our state, to foster entrepreneurship and creativity and to graduate students who are committed to investing in our state’s economy.

We also have an obligation to lead.

There is no doubt that UNC is already a leader within the state and the southeast.

As leaders we have the privilege of defining the expectations of the world in which we live. The time to define these expectations is now. We need an institutionalized process that guides our campus food purchases.

The good news is we’re not starting from scratch.

In 2011, students campaigned for former Chancellor Holden Thorp to sign the Real Food Campus Commitment, which would devote the campus’ administrators to address concerns of racial justice, sustainability, immigration, labor and health that are interwoven in our campus food system.

He met students’ activism with little action and a request for more information.

Since then, a small number of committed students have worked collaboratively with Carolina Dining Services.

Since 2013, we have directly audited over $4 million in products and recommended key shifts to support suppliers of real food.

We pushed UNC forward without active administrative support, but we have reached a threshold for doing this work alone.

Students pay for meal plans, eat food on campus and are residents of the campus community.

This affects all of us. We must ensure food and dining purchases reflect our values.

In signing the Real Food Campus Commitment, we affirm the university’s commitment to leading North Carolina and to investing in our students, our workers and our regional economy.

We must seize the opportunity to lead North Carolina and to join our peer institutions in this work.

On Friday, Feb. 5 at 1 p.m. we will march from the Pit to the steps of South Building.

The purpose of this public action is to draw attention to where the power is in this system — from the grassroots to the office building — and to show how we, as student leaders and activists, can demand more involvement by our administrators.

Come to the Table UNC!

To get the day's news and headlines in your inbox each morning, sign up for our email newsletters.

Claire Hannapel

Director

UNC Real Food Challenge