Chartwells food focus of upcoming protest: “Students have had enough” Chartwells food focus of upcoming protest: “Students have had enough”
A protest against mandatory food plans at Humber is being organized for this Thursday Oct. 10 starting at 12 p.m. on both North and... Chartwells food focus of upcoming protest: “Students have had enough”

A protest against mandatory food plans at Humber is being organized for this Thursday Oct. 10 starting at 12 p.m. on both North and Lakeshore residence cafeterias. At North campus, the protest will start at the cafeteria and move to the sixth floor executive offices. Students say they are frustrated, want their voices heard and are ready to support the protest’s demands that the meal plans be made optional.

Ella Turnbull and Griffin Macleod are both second-year students in child and youth care. Turnball has lived in residence for two years. She says she heard about the protest through friends and around residence.

“The food is not seasoned and everything is so bland and I’m not a person who loves crazy spices. Something is always off, either fries are cold, gravy is burnt and you’re waiting too long for food. I waited for an order of fries for half an hour. For a chicken tenders and poutine, I’m waiting 45 minutes,” she says.

Turnball says she believes the reason for the long food wait is the staff are not trained, cooks usually get busy during dinner time when most students eat at once. She says she feels like they haven’t been trained how to handle a dinner rush.

Macleod doesn’t live in residence but he says he has tried the cafeteria food. He thinks the food is bland and too expensive for small portions and also agrees the food takes too long.

Kieran Baker, a second-year student in the acting for television and film program, is also in his second year in residence. He follows the Instagram page @humber.chartwells_protest and plans on joining the protest. He wants to show support for his fellow residents. 

“The food is generally not good. Almost everyone you talk to on campus will say the food is overpriced and takes too long to get to you. You can be waiting upwards of 40 minutes for a $12 burger. The prices have increased by $2 for almost everything since last year. I can take a fraction of the money for the meal plan and only buy groceries and be better off,” he says. The minimum silver meal plan package costs $2,850.

Meal plan packages

Residents are given “food forum” forms to express any concerns. Baker says he has done them last year, but nothing changes. He says he thinks the student residents have had enough of the meal plan being a mandatory payment. The number of students attending the protest is unclear, but the Instagram page @humber.chartwells_protest has 130 followers so far.

Sofiia Bruk is a third-year student in the bachelor of film and media production. She lived in residence in her first year and agrees with the students planning to protest.

“My boyfriend also lived in residence during the first year. Because of prices, he tried to space out the meal plan to last the entire semester, so he ended up eating only once a day from the meal plan and also bought noodles.”

Bruk says she knows other people with the higher priced meal plans and they also ran out of food by the end of the semester.

In an email, the corporate communications team of Chartwells wrote in response to the protest, “At Chartwells, we recognize the impact of inflation on the communities we serve – in particular, students who are disproportionately affected by the rising cost of food. We take our responsibility as food service providers on campus to help make sure students have access to diverse food options, at a variety of price points. One example at Humber Polytechnic are our “Value Meal” specials that are available across North and Lakeshore campuses. These options range in price, starting at $5.99. “

Emily Milic, director of Humber communications also wrote in an email “We are aware of the student protest planned for Oct. 10 related to food services and residence. We have been in contact with the organizers of that protest to offer a meeting with the leadership responsible for food and residence to discuss their concerns and ways in which they might be addressed. There are also Food Forums scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 8 and Wednesday, Oct. 9, in which students can engage in dialogue with the food vendor, as well as the Humber leadership responsible for food and residence.”

Dela Dorkenoo