A student-led hunger strike designed to draw attention to a lack of food access has ended with new accommodations being made by two of the nation’s leading historically black colleges.
The protest, which launched on Nov. 2, solicited executives from Morehouse College and Spelman College to broker agreements with food service provider Aramark to donate unclaimed meal plans to students without food access.
http://www.crossroadsnews.com/news/spelman-and-morehouse-students-hunger-strike-to-change-school-policy/article_f28f52a2-c0a2-11e7-982b-938cbe5e18c2.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=user-share
Spelman student activist Mary Pat Hector announced on Twitter this evening the conclusion of the strike, organized by Hector and classmates from Spelman and Morehouse College.
Proud to announce the hunger strike has ended! The Spelman/Morehouse admin met with our NAN chapters, Morhouse SGA and Spelman NAACP today.
— I quit my job to #Fight4FreeCollege (@MaryPatHector) November 8, 2017
What came from that meeting was both institutions committing to 14,000 meals each year for students who face food insecurity on campus.
— I quit my job to #Fight4FreeCollege (@MaryPatHector) November 8, 2017
This means all you have to do is request a meal card from the Dean or Rep and you can have up to three meals a day. Vouchers are available
— I quit my job to #Fight4FreeCollege (@MaryPatHector) November 8, 2017
Upon your request! So please take advantage. This will start as next week! We will have 2,000 free meals the remainder of the semester….
— I quit my job to #Fight4FreeCollege (@MaryPatHector) November 8, 2017
In a letter to the Spelman community on Monday, President Mary Schmidt Campbell pledged cooperation with the 25 student protestors and support for helping students to combat food insecurity.
http://www.spelman.edu/about-us/office-of-the-president/letters-to-the-community/2017/11/06/letter-to-the-community
“No student should go hungry on our campus. We take this opportunity to thank the members of the NAN Spelhouse Collegiate Chapter for highlighting the scale of a growing problem. We are committed to expediting the development of more solutions,” Dr. Campbell wrote.
A 2016 survey revealed that African American college students were 17 percent more likely to experience at least one incident of food insecurity than white students.
http://hbcudigest.com/we-joke-about-ramen-noodles-but-is-hunger-a-growing-issue-at-hbcus/
