During the community meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 27, students raised concerns about food access.

One of the many changes across Guilford’s campus has been related to students’ access to food. With the Grill now being closed on Sundays, Rachel’s hours being cut, sharing meal swipes being restricted, and the dining hall not being open after 6:30 p.m. on weekends, there are limited food resources on campus. 

During the meeting, GSBA senior Melah Melton commented that there are Guilfordians who are “uniquely hungry,” a play on words to the college’s rebranding slogan.   

Elaborating on what inspired the statement, Melton said that while she feels lucky to have the necessities she needs to succeed, she can’t ignore that the college’s attention to rebranding has seemed to miss the importance of food security. 

“There’s only a stovetop. There’s no oven, only a microwave. You can’t really cook in those conditions,” said Melton, recalling her experience living in the Mary Hobbs residential building last year. “We’re paying for this meal plan, so there should be some solution or alternative option for students to eat,” she said.

Students deserve to have consistent access to food, but there are limited opportunities. Rather than buying new banners and installing swings around campus, accessibility to food should be a top priority. 

One program that is put in place to hopefully combat the food insecurity around campus is the Quaker Cupboard, located in King Hall. The Quaker Cupboard holds the mission of providing food to those who need resources around campus. 

Quaker Cupboard outreach coordinator, senior Destini Nyorkor, said the cupboard food restocks are going quickly, and that even with donations from alumni, the food continues to run out. 

Nyorkor said she wishes leadership understood the reality of food insecurity that students are facing. “People aren’t just saying they don’t have food, they mean it,” said Nyorkor.

Nyorkor said she continues to learn how the campus change in food options affects those on campus, especially athletes who relied on the grill for meals after late-night practices. However, Nyorkor said that those in leadership positions are not to blame. 

“We as students see [those in leadership] as being passive,” Nyorkor said, specifically referring to students who don’t attend community meetings. 

However, Nyorkor, who attended the last community meeting, was able to understand that even with the college’s financial struggles, leadership is doing what it can to help. 

“We see people trying to find all these other [solutions]. But I do think they should look at it from the student perspective,” she said.  

Students continue to have questions, and they deserve their answers. 

Guilford gets a lot of produce from the on-campus Guilford Farm. Toby Johnson, a junior and farm site coordinator, said the farm works closely with the dining hall in different capacities.

Johnson said one of the main components of the farm’s compost is the excess food from the dining hall – and according to Johnson, there’s a lot of it. 

“This, to me, implies that we cook more food than needed. Despite us having excess food, there’s still the issue of food insecurity on campus,” said Johnson.

There are limited hours to eat on campus, but there’s also too much food being made. Guilford students have asked for longer dining hall hours or other opportunities to eat later, especially on the weekends. 

This is an idea that Johnson agrees with, having firsthand experience of the short dining hours. 

“Last Sunday, I hadn’t gotten the chance to go to the cafeteria for dinner and had to ask a friend for food [due to cuts in Grill hours, and not making it to the dining hall],” he said.

Johnson also calls attention to the issue of not only having access to food, but also having healthy food options. Rachel’s mostly serves coffee and pastries, while the Grill’s healthiest options are bowls or wraps.

Johnson believes leadership, in addition to tackling food insecurity on campus, must also make it a priority to have nutritious food for students. 

Communication between our faculty, staff and students should be a priority. Students should also do their part by voicing their concerns and attending community meetings when they can. 

Melton says it best.  “We all want change at Guilford. I think that it’s good they’re rebranding…, but we also need to remember when we change things, we need to fill the gaps that have been emptied by the change,” said Melton.

Food insecurity is not a new issue on Guilford’s campus, and students say there is a need for change.