EC Equity Committee Seeking Donations For New Student Kitchen

Often, Elmira College international students and student-athletes stay on campus during breaks. However, the Campus Center Dining Hall is closed at those times, leaving these students with few meal options. That was the situation for Saadiya Dione '26, a Criminal Justice and Psychology double major and international student from Senegal. She stayed on campus over the recent Thanksgiving break and was worried about having to spend money to eat at restaurants.

However, the EC Equity Committee opened a Student Kitchen that she was able to use instead.

“It was very useful and helped me not spend money that I might need somewhere else,” she explained.

“The idea for the Student Kitchen came about through a Needs Assessment survey that we sent out last Spring to international students,” explained Larry Parker II, Elmira College Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Title IX Coordinator. “The students shared how this is a gap since there aren’t many restaurants close by that they can walk to, and they aren’t able to cook much in their residence halls.”

The Student Kitchen is open during breaks and is located in the Catering Kitchen adjacent to Stephans Lounge in Meier Hall.

The Committee is seeking donations to help stock the kitchen with non-perishable foods and other kitchen tools. Anyone interested in donating to the Kitchen can reach out to Parker or Sydney Stringham ’19, MSEd ’21, MS ’23, Director of Alumni Relations. They will collect food items and kitchen tools throughout the year to keep the Student Kitchen fully stocked.

That’s good news for Dione who said that if she stays on campus during another break, she “might make a vegan lasagna” in the Student Kitchen.