School of Design students express concerns over food options at The Warehouse

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Charlotte Griffith, a sophomore studying environmental and interior design, said she struggles finding balanced meals while at Syracuse University’s Nancy Cantor Warehouse, or “The Warehouse” in downtown Syracuse, a place where she takes most of her classes.

With access to only one cafe in the building, Griffith said it is difficult for her to manage her meals while going to classes. These concerns surrounding food access for design students have been exacerbated this semester, she said, following the addition of an updated meal swipe policy at the building’s Warehouse Cafe.

“Last year, I would be getting all kinds of things, and now I’ll get a salad and a water,” Griffith said. “(Now), they’ll say I went over (the meal swipe limit) and I have to pay with dining dollars for the extra 80 cents or whatever it is.”

As of October 2023, Food Services did not have information related to differences in the Warehouse Cafe’s meal swipe system compared to the rest of the university, according to the Wayback Machine. Since then, the website added a section titled “Using Your Meal Plan at the Warehouse Cafe,” which states students are limited to using one meal swipe at breakfast and one at lunch at The Warehouse Cafe, even if they have an unlimited meal plan.

“They also don’t really advertise exactly how it works, so me and the people that work at the cafe itself have no idea what to do,” Griffith said.

The Warehouse Cafe is the only dining facility in the building, which is almost two miles from the university’s main campus. The cafe’s prices have also increased within the last year, said Samara Vachani, a sophomore studying fashion design. Breakfast is now limited to $10 and is served from 8 a.m. until 10:30 a.m., according to Food Services’ website. Lunch is limited to $14, served from 10:30 a.m. until 4 p.m.

Griffith said she can’t maximize her meal swipes due to the “expensive” prices of the food. Before this academic year, she said she never hit her meal swipe limit.

The amount of time design students spend at The Warehouse depends on their major and year, said Zeke Leonard, coordinator of first-year experience at the School of Design. There are two models for studio classes: the first is designed so that students have class at The Warehouse for two and a half hours twice a week, and the second has students meet once a week for five hours, he said.

Griffith said she has classes back-to-back from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. with only a 30-minute break before her next class at 12:30 p.m. During her breaks, she only has time to quickly grab food from Warehouse Cafe before heading back to class.

“If any of my professors run over time, after 12:00, it really limits the ability to do anything other than eat in the cafe,” Griffith said.

Denise Heckman, an associate professor in the School of Design, said that this year, students are at The Warehouse for longer periods of time than previous years due to changes in the curriculum. Now, many students depend on the cafe for all three meals, she said.

“That cafeteria was never meant to serve students that way,” Heckman said.

Cole Ross | Digital Design Editor

Previously, students could only use one meal swipe daily at The Warehouse Cafe, Heckman said, but after writing in complaints to SU’s Food Services department, students were granted an additional swipe. She also said Food Services has tried to hold meetings with students to discuss their concerns but that students haven’t shown up.

Between long classes and short lunch breaks, Heckman said students in her classes have asked to leave early to get food, which she often lets them do.

“When we can get the students and the food services in communication with each other, they are willing to work, but it’s just getting them in communication with each other,” Heckman said. “I think they’ve been trying to be helpful, but often they don’t get the right information to be helpful.”

Dalia Scolnick, a freshman and vegetarian, said the food options are very limited, especially when she’s at The Warehouse on Fridays. She said she is in The Warehouse from around 7:45 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and most of the options include meat.

“I only have two selections a day, and it’s not healthy … I basically drink a Celsius, barely eat and then come back, and I’m not doing so great,” Scolnick said.

Charlotte Pond, a sophomore interior design student who is gluten-free, said she finds it difficult to find food friendly to dietary needs too.

“There’s literally nothing there for me to eat except for a bowl of fruit, and they got rid of the KIND Bars and now they only have one type,” Pond said.

When SU first occupied The Warehouse in 2006, former Chancellor Nancy Cantor said the building was intended to bring together the university and the broader Syracuse community. In February 2023, students told The Daily Orange that the building’s distance from SU’s main campus creates a disconnect from other SU students.

“It’s just annoying because it’s like they almost don’t care about the fact that we’re downtown,” Pond said.

Leonard said the location of The Warehouse relative to on-campus dining options makes it challenging for students to get the food they need. He described food access as an ongoing “issue” among design students.

Leonard said that food services sent out an email to the “Warehouse community” outlining changes to the meal swipes. Vachani said she did not recall receiving an email from Food Services detailing the changes.

“All that I can say is my understanding from food services is that they are open to this being an ongoing conversation,” Leonard said.

Vachani said she’s noticed that schools like SU’s Newhouse School of Public Communications have larger cafes with a greater variety of options, including “fresh” food.

“I know people that are in The Warehouse from 9:00 (a.m.) to 2:00 or 3:00 (p.m.) every day, or some people are even there from 9:00 (a.m.) to 5:00 or 6:00 (p.m.). That’s your whole nutrition for the day,” Vachani said. “Some people are just not eating or not getting enough food.”