A multinational food aid effort touched down in the Carleton residence commons cafeteria Saturday morning, bringing relief to starving residence students.
“Thank God they’re here,” said first-year communications student Jake Strong. “I’ve been waiting in line for a sandwich for almost 12 minutes. I don’t how much longer I could have held out.”
Working around the clock, United Nations aid workers distributed edible essentials to hundreds of desperate students. In recent months, the cafeteria has been plagued by long lines and food shortages, especially during peak meal times.
“By the time I got to the desert bar, all of the butter tarts were gone,” said grief-stricken first-year engineering student Michael Falvo, who was handed a blanket and glass of chocolate milk by a passing aid worker.
The ground effort was directed by senior UN official Daniel Lanois, who has co-ordinated aid efforts in Ethiopia, the Congo and Sudan.
“It was absolutely horrific,” Lanois said, describing the state of the cafeteria before the UN’s arrival.
“The line for stir-fry doubled back on itself, and the pasta line went almost out the door.”
Panic rippled through the restless crowd when the grill station ran out of gravy for the French fries. Aid workers managed to restrain the milling mob with an emergency distribution of Pop Tarts.
“The international community needs to act now to prevent further catastrophe,” Lanois urged.
Sixteen countries have supplied food and personnel, and planes en route to Port-aux-Prince were diverted over the mid-Atlantic to provide a continual stream of goods.
But it’s unclear how long it will take the region to recover.
“Sure, there have been line-ups before,” said fourth-year film studies student Diana Eaton, a weathered cafeteria veteran. “But not like this . . . never like this.”
In spite of the record line-ups and desperation, the vegan bar remained untouched.