Spelman President Responds to Students Hunger Strike

Dear Spelman Community,

I am pleased to share that through a process of open and productive conversation,  Spelman administrators and students working together with our food services vendor, Aramark, have reached a solution to reduce food insecurity on campus.

Through the end of 2017, Spelman and Aramark are providing 2,000 meals and up to 7,000 meals during the second semester to current Spelman students who live off campus and who have a need for a meal. Beginning Monday, November 13, any current Spelman student living off campus who has a need for a meal can obtain a complimentary meal ticket from the Office of the Dean of Students to use in the dining hall. In the interim, if a student living off campus has a need for a meal, they will be accommodated by the dining hall. (All students living on campus have meal plans and, therefore, are not eligible for the complimentary meal ticket.)

I am also pleased that the students who were striking to highlight this issue were able to end their hunger strike and remain in good health. We appreciate Mary Pat Hector and the members of the National Action Network Spelhouse Collegiate Chapter for their work on food insecurity. Also, I’d like to thank the following for their efforts in developing a solution: Aramark’s Senior District Manager Jeff Hall and Spelman Dining Services General Manager Carolyn Mangum; Spelman’s Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Darnita Killian, Vice President for Business and Financial Affairs & Treasurer Danny Flanigan, Assistant Vice President for Business and Financial Affairs Dawn Alston and Dean of Students Dr. Fran’Cee Brown-McClure.

This annual initiative supplying up to 14,000 meals a year to students in need will supplement other efforts currently in development by members of the Spelman community to stem the tide of food insecurity on our campus. Our next goal is to analyze the results of our campus survey to quantify the depth of the problem and, also, to identify what other solutions might be implemented.

Sincerely,

Mary Schmidt Campbell, Ph.D.
President