The next time patrons look to the AMS Food Bank for help filling their pantry, they’ll find StuCons present at the service.
Starting on Nov. 13, Queen’s StuCons will be working at the AMS Food Bank to direct foot traffic. The primary reason StuCons will be working at the Food Bank is to provide line and crowd control for patron and staff safety, while ensuring capacity limits in the service aren’t exceeded, according to AMS Vice-President (Operations) Michelle Hudson.
“We want to make sure patrons who are inside do have enough time and enough space to get what they need from the food bank, and make sure there’s not overcrowding there,” Hudson said in an interview with The Journal.
Hudson told The Journal in the current economic climate, both the AMS Food Bank and its sister service PEACH Market are seeing an increase in patrons, and the food supply is running out faster than it has previously. In September, the Food Bank spent $5,507 on groceries.
Currently the Food Bank is open Monday through Friday, and though the average number of patrons each day ranges from 35 to 40, there have been as many as 53 visitors on any given day.
This marks an increase from the summer months, where the Food Bank was open three days a week and saw approximately 30 to 35 patrons each shift. Students that most often access the food bank include graduate students, international students, and students with family responsibilities.
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With increased ship, there’s more concern for ensuring both patrons and staff stay safe while working in the Food Bank’s small space in Rideau Hall. By having StuCons present, Hudson hopes to offer peer-to-peer instead of an intimidating security presence.
StuCons won’t receive specific training for working at the Food Bank. Despite this, StuCon Head Manager Caroline Jarrett will be stationed at the Food Bank more often since she participated in the IEDI-AA training mandatory for all AMS management over the summer.
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According to PSAC 901 President Justyna Szewczyk-El Jassem, the implementation of StuCons at the AMS Food Bank raises concern.
“If security is more of a concern than food security, then this is concerning,” she told The Journal.
There’s also been student concerns about increased policing in spaces frequented by international students.
“This is purely an act of discrimination and racial profiling as most patrons are racialized people and international students,” Queen’s student Idorenyin Williams said. “Recruiting securities to police and surveil patrons totally makes patrons uncomfortable and also speaks to racial profiling and how certain bodies are already marked in certain kind of ways and connotations.”
Hudson isn’t aware of any patrons’ concerns with the new security; however, she’s received from others who are concerned by the decision. She claimed the AMS is looking to solicit more student through a QR code that will be sent to students via email and posted at the Food Bank.
“For this to work and to be safe, we do need to hear students’ ,” she said. “Having that QR code form that people can scan and go through anonymously that will also be sent out by email, and on our website, we can get more responses there and kind of gauge how everyone’s feeling.”
The StuCon presence is a temporary measure and isn’t planned as a permanent fixture for the Food Bank going forward.
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