|
Associated Students of the University of Washington |
|
|
A Resolution in Support of a Student-Run Food Cooperative WHEREAS University of Washington students currently have limited food options on campus and merely symbolic control over the price and quality of their food; and, WHEREAS Housing and Food Services (HFS) operates as a virtual monopoly on campus, whereby market competition is discouraged and absent, and with it the market pressure that students would otherwise wield; and, WHEREAS the ethics relating to and sustainability of the UW food system is of significant concern to students; and, WHEREAS Demand for ethically, locally sourced, and sustainably prepared and grown foods, has grown in recent years, as shown by dramatic sales increases at such locations as Chaco Canyon and Molly’s below the Henry; and, WHEREAS Student-run food cooperatives offer an alternative food source for students at a low-cost and can provide leadership and community planning experience; and, WHEREAS A cooperative responds to demand directly as well as enables students a means through which to influence it, thereby helping engender a culture of sustainability on campus; and, WHEREAS a cooperative structure incentivizes an engagement with the politics and ethics behind the food consumed, and morphs passive consumers into active participants in the campus food system; and, WHEREAS A food cooperative is an organization owned by its consumers (UW students, faculty and staff) and workers and constitutes a means of democratizing our food system; and, WHEREAS Successful student-run food cooperatives have been created at other regional universities, including the University of British Columbia, Portland State University, The Evergreen State College and University of California Berkeley; and, WHEREAS A student-run food cooperative could create a community space and forum for discussion surrounding food sovereignty and food justice issues, as well as sustainability and nutrition; and, WHEREAS The food co-op will work collaboratively with the UW Farm to localize, contextualize and democratize the campus food system, maintaining the University of Washington as one of the most sustainable universities in the country; and, WHEREAS The UW Farm is poised to expand to an acre of land which would dramatically increasing their production capacity; and, WHEREAS The co-op would be dedicated to being familiar with the local farms from which they receive their food beyond what is sourced from the UW Farm; and, WHEREAS A student-run food cooperative would be directed by student staff and volunteers, with help from advisers in SAUF; and, WHEREAS The co-op would be self-sufficient within the first year of its creation; and, WHEREAS The food co-op has the support and mentorship of local businesses such as Madison Market, Molly's and Chaco Canyon; and, WHEREAS There is a functional kitchen in the South Campus Center (SCC) that has not been utilized for six years that could be used to prepare food for the cooperative while the Husky Union Building is closed; and, WHEREAS Students will be losing the Ethnic Cultural Center, the South Campus Center as well as the HUB for the following two years; and, WHEREAS The co-op’s ambition to operate a food cart in Red Square or another central campus location will help fill the gap in food services provided in the heart of campus with the absence of the HUB; and, WHEREAS The UW Student Food Co-op would be a self-sustaining enterprise; and, WHEREAS The Food Co-op has the support of the Nutritional Sciences Department; and, WHEREAS The explicit goal of the cooperative would be to make healthy, sustainably grown and locally sourced food accessible and affordable, by means of an absence of profit margins, volunteer shifts both at the UW Farm and the co-op for food credit and a bulk-buying club; and, WHEREAS A food cooperative would benefit the UW community by providing alternative food choices, leadership opportunities for students, and increasing awareness of food justice issues in our community; therefore, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE ASSOCIATED STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON: THAT the ASUW supports the creation of a student-run food cooperative on campus; and, THAT the ASUW feels that the best way to create a sustainable and well-supported food cooperative would be to establish it as an ASUW enterprise; and, THAT the ASUW Food Cooperative Taskforce should continue its operation in the 2010-2011 in order to ensure the successful creation of a cooperative; and, THAT the ASUW supports a student-run food cooperative in the SCC cafe space, as well as the co-op’s use of a food cart to serve students in central campus; and, THAT the ASUW supports a student-run food cooperative café space in the new HUB once its renovation has been completed, operating independently from and in competition with HFS; and, THAT this resolution be forwarded to Tim Mensing – ASUW President, Jake Faleschini – GPSS President, Lincoln Johnson – Associate Vice President of Campus Life and Director of the HUB, Phyllis M. Wise –Provost and Executive Vice President, Paul Jenny – Vice Provost of Planning and Budgeting, Pat Wahl – Dean of the School of Public Health History of Legislation 04/28/2010: Submitted for consideration |
Legislation ID: Date Submitted: Sponsor: Cosponsor(s):
|