Students are expressing concerns over the accessibility of the “One Stop Chop,” the Trent Central Student Association’s (TCSA) food bank. One student, who has spoken to Arthur, has outlined a failure on the part of TCSA staff to be available and take the concerns of students attempting to access the food bank for staples seriously and respond to their needs.

They also outlined their concerns based on their knowledge of students of colour having been unduly surveilled during their scheduled visits to the One Stop Chop, and have reported instances of being asked to open their bags by TCSA staff when they are leaving in order to ensure compliance with the pantry’s policies. 

These experiences have since been substantiated by students who have written to Arthur to express concern over “numerous” instances of TCSA staff watching what they were taking from the pantry, and even verbally reminding them not to take too many items.  

The nature of these complaints, while significant on their face, also raise an uncomfortable conversation about how the Association’s resources are being used and whether they are being used in a way which effects positive change for students at Trent in a meaningful way, or if perhaps there are alternatives which are more feasible both from a staffing and accessibility perspective. 

The structural problems facing the One Stop Chop are ones facing food banks and pantries across Canada, the majority of which continue to see the needs of citizens outpace the ability to adequately and equitably provide food to those in need. Originally created in response to the economic recession in the 1980s, forty years later the need for food banks remains while the demand for them continues to increase year over year.

The TCSA’s 2022/23 Budget devotes $45,900 to the food bank, which is funded in part by a Grocery Assistant Program levy fee of $1.86. As of the latest budget update available, the TCSA has spent $18,605.69 on the Food Pantry and another $9,510 on Grocery Assistance through SERF.

However, the unique situation the TCSA finds itself in is borne out of their role as a student union. They are, for all intents and purposes, supposed to advocate for the rights of their members. However noble the intention of a food pantry is, it does nothing to address the systemic issues causing food insecurity. It was a band aid solution in the 1980s, and it remains one today as food prices continue to increase alongside inflation at an alarming rate. 

These issues would exist without the complaints being related to Arthur by students who find themselves utilizing the food bank. Each recognizes the fact that the One Stop Chop is not meant to end food insecurity. Their primary concerns rest with the equity of accessing resources and what they see as a lack of transparency on the part of the TCSA. 

In speaking with Trent students who utilize the resources of their student union, they consistently report being frustrated by what they see as restrictions on their ability to access food from the pantry when they need it. Additionally, as Arthur has learned, they find the staff in charge of stocking or monitoring the food bank unable or unavailable to answer their questions. 

One student who spoke to Arthur reported being unable to contact the TCSA Service Manager, Zoe Litow-Daye, over the course of a week, both in person, on the phone, and over email. On at least one occasion they were told Litow-Daye was unavailable because they were in a meeting. Faced with this impediment, the student resorted to leaving a note on Litow-Daye’s car after they noticed it parked in the reserved parking outside the student centre during another failed attempt to speak directly to them.

The student referred to this act as one born out of desperation and an attempt to advocate for their rights and those of other students, due to their constant inability to contact staff in charge and the lack of coherent answers they were receiving from front desk staff in the TCSA office. Specifically, they noted that front desk staff had told them that the pantry would not be re-stocked until it was completely empty. 

In correspondence obtained by Arthur from the student, TCSA General Manager Tracy Milne reached out to the student following the discovery of the note, calling the decision “overreaching” and “inappropriate” while explaining that Litow-Daye had been working at reduced in-person hours during the time period in question. Milne would later confirmto the student that she wrote to them in order to “protect the wellbeing of her staff” and that they determined it was them “by deduction.” Despite being certain enough to send an email to the suspected student, during a follow-up meeting, Milne would ask the student to confirm that it was in fact them who left the note. 

Milne went on to write to the student that the pantry “is kept well stocked on a weekly basis but is unable to be stocked every day, therefore if your visit is planned between restock days, you may find yourself with fewer items to choose from.”

“The pantry is meant to help food insecurity, but it certainly is not capable of solving it,” Milne continued, “this service is not meant to replace your need to purchase groceries.” It is worth noting that at no point did the student suggest that they felt the pantry was there to end food insecurity on campus. Rather, their concerns rested solely with the accessibility of staff and their inability to find vegan options in stock. 

The student further mentioned in an email that they had been told that their decision to leave the note made Litow-Daye feel fearful for her wellbeing and that she was being surveilled, a fact which is supported again through email correspondence obtained by Arthur in which Milne wrote that the student’s note made Litow-Daye “uncomfortable.”

One student, who asked that their name not be included in print, noted that while they have never had any negative interactions with TCSA staff, they feel that the appointment-based system means that access to staples is inconsistent

This was also a main concern of another student who related that they “have concerns with how the process takes place, how every two weeks is somewhat inaccessible for food insecure students.” 

“It seems to be very disorganized with rules changing often and stocks being empty to low for some students and fully stocked for others,” they continued.  

When reached for comment, Milne responded to Arthur that the TCSA’s “mandate is always to be as dietary friendly as possible and we are happy to receive suggestions or feedback from students at any time.” 

“The pantry is checked daily and restocked when necessary; minimum of once per week during the summer and up to twice a week during the school year,” Milne noted. “What the scheduling has done is help ensure the pantry is not depleted on a Wednesday afternoon with one large influx of students accessing the pantry all at once. In addition, having multiple students at once in the pantry inadvertently decreases their privacy.”

​​In the case of one student, however, there is a constant sense of uncertainty as to what will be available when they book their appointment for the One Stop Chop every two weeks.

“Since the appointment is every two weeks I've had instances where all I got was a cereal box and canned products,” they wrote to Arthur. “Me and some of my friends had to rely on One Stop pretty regularly since we're international students and are struggling to get work and not being able to get any proper rations is kinda disappointing.” 

How did we get here?: 

The TCSA’s food pantry which was opened during the 2022/23 academic year under the portfolio of former VP Health and Wellness, Holly Naraine, who ran specifically on creating an “on-campus food bank for all students to access” which would build on and eventually replace other grocery assistance programs available to undergraduate students. 

When it was first opened, the pantry operated on an open-access model where students were able to freely take the food they needed without first making an appointment with the TCSA.

However, at a February 12th Board meeting, then TCSA President and current Service Manager, Zoe Litow-Daye, announced that the One Stop Chop would be shifting to an appointment-based model for access and would allow students the opportunity to book one appointment every two weeks. The motivation behind this decision, for which VP Naraine had not been consulted on, had to do with the high traffic the food pantry had been experiencing which often led to resources being diminished within a day or two. 

“We've noticed what happens, there will be, you know, five to ten students that will show up at once and use the pantry all at once,” Litow-Daye was quoted as saying in February. “The office gets very busy, very crowded. Students also kind of start to like panic grab because there are lots of other students around them.”

Immediately, Board members expressed their concerns over the impact the implementation of an appointment-based system would have on the accessibility and equity of the pantry.

In response, Litow-Daye stated that TCSA staff had been reporting instances of students abusing the service, going so far as to imply that some students, regardless of their economic situation, might be taking more than they need in order to negatively affect the TCSA. 

“I'm hoping that [the appointment-based system] will kind of eliminate folks who aren't facing food insecurity and are just, you know, accessing the pantry and saying, ‘Oh, it's really great. We get to hit a lick on the TCSA, open up your bag!’ and they start filling their backpacks with food, because that is a genuine situation that our staff are seeing.”

Despite the impetus behind these measures, the current platform to make an appointment at the One Stop Chop does not specifically ask for any details concerning the income or need of a student looking to make use of the facilities. Instead, students must enter only their name, phone number, student number, dietary restrictions, and then check whether they are an international student, domestic student, graduate student, or other, and click that they understand the pantry’s guidelines in order to create an appointment.

The guidelines assert that the One Stop Chop “serves over 100 students a week” and outlines limitations on the kinds of items that patrons can take during their visits to “ensure that there is enough food to support everyone.” 

This figure is striking given its contrast to an update given by Litow-Daye during a Board meeting on March 12th in which she claims that over the past two weeks, or since the implementation of the proposed changes, the One Stop Chop had received 67 accesses, which equates to about half of the reported 50-80 students per week prior to the shift.

The site also notes that prior to accessing the food bank, students are asked to check in with TCSA front desk staff upon their arrival for their appointment, a fact which gives some students pause.

“I don’t really like the aspect that it feels very surveilled…filling out the online form to when you come in,” one student wrote to Arthur. “I don’t think having data on students and or having to confirm students' identities at the door makes sense. This is not a government run food bank or institution in my opinion, it is just like browsing the space, much like their merch section.”

Reached for comment on the aspect of data collection and the scheduling software made by Acuity Scheduling in particular, the TCSA responded that it is protected in the same way that their website is protected, which includes multi-factor authentication, DoS attack protection, and content encrption. 

In a summary of a meeting between Milne and TCSA President Aimee Anctil which were forwarded to Arthur, the student who placed a note on the Service Manager’s vehicle sticks to the fact that they feel their actions were justified due to their inability to contact Litow-Daye or find satisfactory or straightforward answers from staff. 

The notes, which were taken and sent to the student by Milne, insist that at no point was the pantry “bone dry” and further adds that “there are staples consistently present” but there is no suggestion of what constitutes a staple in this context. 

In initial correspondence between the student and Arthur the student specifically noted that in their experience there had continually been a lack of vegan and vegetarian options, noting that this has created the impression that the pantry is not accommodating of these specific needs.

The record of the meeting also indicates future plans for the pantry which include the installment of deep freezers and a storage locker in order to prolong the viability of perishable items and also increase the anonymity of those who access the pantry. 

An initial concern regarding the implementation of the by-appointment approach to the One Stop Chop was the fact that the identities of those accessing the resources would no longer be anonymous to the TCSA and their staff. The requirement to provide a name and student number in addition to a level of study and delineate between being a domestic or international student in order to access the pantry again raises concerns for students. 

Unsurprisingly, and unfortunately, the reality is that there can be a lot of shame and stigma around food insecurity. This fact is compounded by cultural differences in both domestic and international students. One of the students who shared their experience with Arthur outlined this as a specific barrier for individuals who might need to make use of the One Stop Chop, but might not now due to the implementation of this new policy.

When reached for comment, former VP Health and Wellness Holly Naraine explained that she wasn’t surprised about the issues being faced and some of the conduct of TCSA staff. 

As Naraine resigned in early March after being barred from the TCSA office and events through the month of February, she was not involved in the transition of the pantry to the current appointment-based model. She was clear that changes made to the One Stop Chop were made without her knowledge or consultation, despite the pantry falling under her portfolio even while she was in office. 

“I talked about how students would access the pantry which was near my desk and how I would chat with them and ask about their needs and wishes for the food bank,” she wrote in a statement to Arthur. “I never wanted to see people disappointed.” 

Naraine stated that she was unsurprised at the complaints being levelled against Litow-Daye and referred to the fact that during a performance review then President Litow-Daye attempted to deny Naraine’s involvement in the creation of the pantry according to documents forwarded to Arthur and instead attempted to suggest that Carter Tongs (VP Health and Wellness, 2021-22) had initiated it.

In a complaint package delivered to Naraine in late January, Naraine was accused of spending an entire month’s budget on the food bank in a week “even after being presented with guidelines and a shopping list.”

Naraine does not deny the fact she over-spent, however, related that what is missing from this document is the fact that she was receiving constant messages from Litow-Daye, Resource Manager Wendy Walker, and outgoing Community Coodinator Ashley Debreyer who would claim that pantry was “ransacked” or “raided.”

“I was shopping almost every day trying to ensure that it was never empty,” Naraine wrote. “Despite this, I was still written up for going over budget.” 

Missed Opportunities:

As the One Stop Chop continues to face the fact that they cannot adequately provide for the every growing needs of Trent students, it begs the question what, if anything, the TCSA can do in order to continue to support students in a way which doesn’t create any kind of hesitation when it comes to accessing services. 

It is evident that the open access model was unsustainable for reasons outlined by VP Naraine and hinted at at Board meetings by Litow-Daye during her Presidency. It is frankly not feasible for a Vice President or member of staff to fill the pantry daily from a staffing or monetary standpoint. 

The result as outlined by students who have chosen to speak up is desperation and disappointment. These students depend on the support of their union, but find themselves facing unnecessary barriers and concerns around accessing those supports. 

The uncomfortable truth here is that good intentions mean little when faced with an ongoing systemic crises of food insecurity, housing affordability and availability, and in the cases of many of those who spoke to Arthur, rising international student tuition rates.

Despite these tangible and publicly known issues facing students from all backgrounds, the TCSA has demonstrated little in the way of advocacy directly related to ensuring Trent diverts its own resources towards helping to alleviate these burdens. 

Minutes from the Food Services Committee for the 2022/23 academic year show that a TCSA representative was present for only two of the seven monthly meetings between October 2022 and March 2023, with Naraine attending both the October and November meetings while missing a meeting on December 1st. Subsequent meetings were held after Naraine was effectively ousted from the TCSA Board and was unable to fulfill major responsibilities in her portfolio, which included committee attendance.

Proposed changes to the dining plan costs at Trent presented at the December 1st meeting included a 9.3% increase for traditional meal plans and a 16% increase for students living in suite style residences. The record shows that these changes were passed unanimously by those in attendance and would later be presented to and approved by the Colleges and Student Services Committee (CASSC) where former VP Colleges and University Affairs, Shay Surujnarain occupied a seat over the 2022/23 academic year.

These committee decisions reflect the reality that food prices and cost of living are increasing everywhere and students are not the only ones affected. However, these records also speak to the level of awareness that members of the TCSA Board had in terms of understanding how this was playing out at the institutional level and how it would therefore affect their current and future members.

This from a student union which has over the course of the past year been preoccupied with nominal challenges to the corporatization of the university but which has done very little, if anything, to challenge the grip that Chartwells, a subsidiary of the multinational corporation Compass Group with a total revenue of £25.512B (approximately 43B CAD) has on this institution and which has a history of actively working against the rights of its workers here at Trent.

Add to this the fact that the TCSA sources the food in the One Stop Chop primarily from Real Canadian Superstore and Costco, and it becomes difficult to believe in the earnestness of stance in challenging the presence of corporate entities on campus. Nor does it necessarily speak to a union interested in supporting the grassroots movement to end food insecurity in our community–if that is genuinely one of their goals.

The One Stop Chop has an important role to play as a stop-gap solution to the systemic issues facing students at Trent University. All of the students who took the time to speak to Arthur are grateful for any direct support. However, they have valid concerns.

Over the past year, the TCSA’s food bank has proven to be a source of internal conflict as well as a source of disappointment and stress for numerous students who, for various reasons, are not entirely comfortable with accessing the resources as it stands. 

The systemic issues facing the One Stop Chop are not at all unique. The position the TCSA finds itself in, however, is. There is an ending to this story in which the same mistakes are made again, and again and it ends when students, finally exhausted by interactions with their union, give up and stop asking for better. Then there is the potential of finding a way in which student feedback is actively integrated and acted upon without first questioning their motives and condemning their actions as threats.