The Team
Communications
Legal Advisor
Evan Griffith
BBA with a focus in Business
Law and MBA in Business
Law from the Ross School of
Business, Partner at
McKinsey & Company for 4
years specializing in the food
industry
Director
Selena Feng
Bachelor Degree from the
University of Michigan in
Communications with a minor
in food and the environment,
previously the director of
marketing and communications
at the University of Michigan.
Supply Chain Manager
Cavun Beck
Bachelor Degree from
the University of
Michigan School of
Public Health in
Nutritional Science.
Pursuing a Masters.
Severity of Food Insecurity
At the University of Michigan:

41.5% of surveyed students experienced food insecurity in 2015

at least once

Nationwide:

● 48% of college student respondents qualified as food

insecure at least once in last 30 days2
The Problem with Food Insecurity

● Can Result in:

○ Lower quality diet
○ Leads to a variety of adverse health outcomes (heart disease, diabetes,
cancer)
○ Impacts education3
○ Reduced capacity for manual work
○ Behavioural abnormalities8
○ Stress
○ Lower student self-esteem
Biggest Factors to Cause Food Insecurity - According to
Students
● Fresh produce near campus is too expensive
● Affordable grocery stores are difficult to reach without a car5
● Dining hall plans are too expensive
● Cost of education is the higher priority6
 MKitchen
Eliminating student hunger through partnerships with the University of Michigan
Dining Services.
Operation Scheme
WHEN

● 3 days a week: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays

● Mondays and Wednesdays: 10pm to 11pm
● Saturdays: 1:30pm to 2:30pm

WHERE

● Mosher Jordan Hall and South Quadrangle

WHO

● Student Volunteers & Dining Hall Employees

Operation Scheme cont.

HOW:

● Offer meals to students experiencing food insecurity on campus at the

University of Michigan
● Advertise to students on the diag and other high-traffic areas
● Meals open to all students, but marketed towards needy students
○ Similar to Maize and Blue Cupboard

● Allow ~1000 users per meal

Initial Registration
● The first time students utilize MKitchen: short registration process
○ Taking down name, information and reason for attendance
○ Will stop those using the service that don’t need it

● Volunteer based
○ ~3 volunteers at the front
○ Instructions and registration
Meal Logistics

● Leftovers
○ Utilize leftovers first
○ Incorporate into prepared meals

● ~3000 students per meal

○ Initial estimation
○ Soft “limit”

● Meals prepared by dining hall workers (5 in South Quad, 3 in Mojo)

○ Workers will be there for 2 hours, 30 minutes before opening to prepare meals and 30
minutes after to clean up
○ 3 in Oxford, 5 on North after expansion
Advertisement Logistics

● Use posters/banners around campus

● ~$4 per day
● Advertise to students experiencing food insecurity, not all students
○ Target audience for marketing -- message is important
Timeline
Budget Breakdown
Budget Breakdown

Cost Breakdown:

● Dining Hall Workers

● Advertisement

● Food Costs

● Gas and Electricity

● Salary
 7

The Numbers
Food/Operations $6.85 per meal x 3000 students x $801,450 per semester
3 meals per week

Labor: Dining Services $11.00 per hour x 6 hours per $10,443 per semester
week x 8 workers x 3/2
(proportion that would increase
in price due to expansion)
Labor: Experts $5,000 per expert x 3 experts $15,000 per semester

Advertisements $2,000 $2,000 per semester

Total Cost $291,014 per semester

Total 1st Year Cost:

$1,653,790
Legal Obstacles

● Dining hall employees can help ensure that food is handled and served safely
(properly heated, not expired, etc)
● Good Samaritan Food Donation Act
● Permission to use facilities
○ Regents of UofM
Goals for the Future

● Expand MKitchen to every dining hall on campus

○ 5 remaining
■ Bursley

■ East Quad

■ Markley

■ North Quad

■ Twigs at Oxford

● Increase frequency of opening

○ Every day of the week

● Help other universities set up similar programs

○ Ex. Michigan State University, Wayne State University, Grand Valley State University
Other On-Campus Solutions

● Maize and Blue Cupboard

○ Not frequent
● Emergency Meal Fund
○ Solves problems short term, more permanent solution needed
● Student Food Co
○ Not well-known, too small to solve large scale of the problem
Benefits of MKitchen

● Simple
● Requires few people to operate
○ 8 dining hall employees, 6 volunteers

● Potential for low operation costs

● Potential to benefit many students
○ Improve diet and education
○ Reduce stress
Successes at other universities

● Lesley University
○ Meal kitchen offered to all students
○ Provides ~10% of the students meals daily

● Brown University
○ Student run pantry
○ Provides snacks for all students in need

● Guest Swiping
○ Carlton University
○ Emory University
○ Washington University at St. Louis
Citations

2,3,5
“About Us.” Student Food Co, SFCo, 2018.

https://studentfoodco.wixsite.com/studentfoodco/about_us
4
“Off-Campus and Apartment Residents.” M|Dining, dining.umich.edu/meal-plans-rates/off-

campus-and-apartment-residents/.
6
Dubick, James, et al. “Hunger on Campus The Challenge of Food Insecurity for College Students.” Hunger On

Campus: The Challenge of Food Insecurity for College Students, Oct. 2016.

http://studentsagainsthunger.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Hunger_On_Campus.pdf
7
“Off-Campus and Apartment Residents.” M|Dining, dining.umich.edu/meal-plans-rates/off-

campus-and-apartment-residents/.
8
Khan, Alamgir. “Nutritional Complications and Its Effects on Human Health.” Allied Academics, 26 Jan. 2018,

www.alliedacademies.org/articles/nutritional-complications-and-its-effects-on-human-health.pdf.
Citations cont.

Tatter, Grace. “Food Insecurity on College Campuses.” Harvard Graduate School of

Education, 15 Nov. 2018, www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/18/11/food-insecurity-college-campuses.

“University of Michigan Financial Report - 2017.” 2017 Annual Report, 2018, finance.umich.edu/reports/2017/.

“Financial Statements.” 2018 Annual Report, 2018.annualreport.umich.edu/financial-statements/.\

“Enrollment Reports.” Enrollment Reports | Office of the Registrar,

ro.umich.edu/reports/enrollment.

Columnist, Julia Montag. “Julia Montag: Is Ann Arbor Going Hungry?” The Michigan Daily,

www.michigandaily.com/section/columns/ann-arbor-going-hungry.