Student leaders are calling for campus-wide action after what they said has been a “devastating injustice” to popular eatery and grocery store, the Whole Foods Market in Foggy Bottom.
GW’s Progressive Youths for Fair Food Against Felony leaders are organizing freshmen to give extra J Street food to Whole Foods after years of GW students stealing from the store. They are calling the project “Making Whole Foods Whole.”
“We have been stealing their wine and pies for so long. It’s time to give back. Kids are throwing away J Street food, anyway, so we might as well use that,” Progressive Youths for Fair Food Against Felony President Greenie Justice said.
Security officers at Whole Foods said an “alarming” number of students have been silently handing them to-go boxes of food, ranging from salads to fried rice.
Justice said remaining silent while repaying the store is part of the group’s initiative.
“We don’t need to explain ourselves. Our goals in donating this food should be pretty clear,” Justice said.
Student Disorganization candidates included Making Whole Foods Whole in their platforms, and some even called for a referendum to require 10 percent of on-campus meal plan money to go toward buying items for Whole Foods.
Store security officers confirmed that students have been stealing items from Whole Foods for months, but some student leaders said it has been happening since the store’s in 2011. Students caught stealing have been banned from entering the establishment for up to five years.
Management at Whole Foods are now struggling with what to do with the excess food students have left in the store, and the donation of J Street food has not stopped students from stealing, one manager said.
“We’re not going to sell this cold, crappy food from a dining hall in our high-quality organic market,” Whole Foods manager Meatless Mandy said.
