Carleton’s Food Collective has turned down a proposal to merge with the undergraduate student union and use their existing spaces as it tries to retain its approximately $2 per student levy and serve food to hungry students.
The collective runs the Garden Spot, a pay-what-you-can food service, which failed to organize last year.
Instead of a merger, the collective proposed in their amendments that it should “maintain its independence and existing fee agreements, and shall work in collaboration with CUSA to find a permanent serving space on campus.”
The Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) proposed a merger with the collective that would give the union more oversight over its operations.
“Through integrating our bank account, including levies and donations, our election process, and other operations with that of CUSA, the Collective would essentially be reduced to a service centre,” the collective wrote.
“On the contrary, the life and volunteerism that fuels our operations are more in line with a student society than a service centre.”
CUSA had asked that the collective serve food three times a week, which was rejected by the collective. In its response, the collective calculated that it did not have the funds to meet that target, but committed to “weekly servings.”
They also declined CUSA’s offer to share space with the Food Centre, a CUSA service centre, because the amount of space would not be practical, the collective wrote.
The collective did agree to some of CUSA’s proposals, such as maintaining accurate financial records, having a succession plan for the future administration of the collective, and doing extra food servings during examination periods.
Gina Parker, CUSA’s vice-president (student issues) said she had not yet consulted her fellow executives on the collective’s response, but pointed out that “no solutions or alternate suggestions to fix past problems were presented by the Carleton Food Collective.”
Parker said the collective has until Oct. 16 to accept CUSA’s proposals.
At a Sept. 24 meeting between CUSA and the collective, CUSA’s vice-president (finance) Folarin Odunayo said if the collective is not responsible with their levy, the union will recommend to the university’s Board of Governors that it be taken away.
