Outrage continues at McGill University. The prices charged in campus cafeterias and the obligation imposed on students in residence to spend more than $4,700 a year there are strongly denounced. A petition has already collected more than 1700 names, and a public meeting will be held next Tuesday.
“The University must accept that food must be accessible to students at a price that is not prohibitive,” argues one of the organizers of Let’s Eat McGill, Liam Gaither, who studies sustainable development in geography.
“What seems to me the most exaggerated are the prices of already packaged foods, for example granola bars, snacks, canned drinks,” testifies Robert, a student who asked to be identified by his first name only. He compared it with grocery store prices. “That’s over a dollar more per bar, on some granola bars!” »
PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
A Good To Go bar costs more in the McGill cafeteria than in the supermarket.
At Redpath Café, on McTavish, the price of a Good To Go bar ($4.39) or Larabar ($3.84), or a Mate Libre drink ($4.27) is 42% to 75% more expensive than supermarket ($1.40, $1.65, and $1.28, respectively), found The Press Wednesday.
I buy absolutely nothing from McGill cafeterias, I couldn’t afford it.
Robert, student at McGill University
Result: when he doesn’t have time to make a full enough lunch for the day, he has to return home, in the suburbs of Montreal. “I would prefer to study at the library, but that forces me to go home to eat. »
Mandatory ski pass
Let’s Eat McGill also denounces the mandatory meal plan (mandatory meal plan) imposed on all residence-dwelling undergraduate students (except Solin Residence, MORE Houses, and Macdonald Campus). This package, which works like a debit card to buy food on campus, costs $4,725 for the 2022-2023 year.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Liam Gaither, organisateur de Let’s Eat McGill
“We would like to see the end of the mandatory meal plan because of the price, which is quite prohibitive, and because it is compulsory, but also better quality: you have to be able to eat well in order to be able to study”, says Mr. Gaither.
McGill does not intend to abolish this package in force “for decades”, replied the senior director of student housing and reception services. “It’s not in the intention, it’s not in our model and it’s not what people are looking for,” said Mathieu Laperle, director of food services at McGill University, in an interview.
Our residences are not built with kitchens where students can cook. And there is also the community component, very present in English-speaking universities and culture.
Mathieu Laperle, Director of Food Services at McGill University
However, the mandatory package will be modified next fall. Instead of a balance that decreases with each purchase, it will give unlimited access to residence cafeterias. “There will be an entry price, which is not yet determined, and people can pay to eat as they want. It’s really the new trend,” notes Mr. Laperle, giving the example of the University of Ottawa.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY MCGILL UNIVERSITY
Mathieu Laperle, Director of Food Services at McGill University
Moreover, “50% of the products we serve are harvested or processed locally,” and many foods come from the Macdonald campus farm, says the manager.
As for prices, the goal is to cover costs, he says, citing inflation, the “very low” margins of catering and the obligation to offer “very extended” hours of service on campus. “We are downtown, people have the option of going to Sainte-Catherine Street,” recalls Mr. Laperle.
In the city center, “the prices are really crazy,” objects Mr. Gaither.
Do you want to spend $15 in a university cafeteria or $17 to $20 for a salad on Sainte-Catherine? The choice is illusory.
Liam Gaither, organisateur de Let’s Eat McGill
Mandatory meal plans added to residence rents have been criticized at several North American universities, including Concordia. In 2018, students at the University of Wisconsin–Madison demonstrated against the imposition of such a formula.
Food insecurity
The March 7 meeting, which will be held in a room that can accommodate about 100 people, will focus on student food insecurity. “We’d like to see more working groups emerge,” says Gaither, who helped start a community food pantry when he was a student at Dawson College.
The construction of a student cafeteria on campus, as well as an increase in the student contribution intended to finance the Midnight Kitchen collective, are part of the projects. Midnight Kitchen is currently offering one free lunch per week. Raising the membership fee from the current $3.35 to $8.00 per session would make it possible to hire another chef and provide free meals three or four days a week, says Gaither. “There, we would be comparable to Concordia, with its People’s Potato, or the University of British Columbia, with its Sprouts services. We are behind all other universities when it comes to free student-run services,” he argues.