YuLin Zhen, Photography Editor

In response to concern from her peers, YCC Dining Director Anna Krans ’27 is focused on bringing to-go boxes back to dining halls.

This past summer, Yale Hospitality removed a pandemic policy that would allow students to use take-out boxes to eat meals outside of dining halls. Other changes to dining hall guidelines included closing Commons on Fridays and removing clementines. Krans, along with members of the YCC, believes that bringing to-go boxes back is important because it is a personal issue.

“We, in the YCC, are students,” Krans said. “We’re advocating on behalf of students. The loss of to-go boxes has been extreme, and in this restorative process, I have been making every effort that I can to try and get them back.”

Krans’ involvement in the advocacy of the boxes was an unintentional pursuit. Her platform upon taking a position as a member of the YCC Dining Team was to introduce fresh fruit and less sugar-dense desserts in dining halls. Now, she has pivoted her focus to recovering what she believes was “taken away” from Yalies by the Yale administration. 

In the place of to-go boxes, Yale has established SmartMeals, much to Krans’ and the YCC’s dismay. A SmartMeal is an orderable, pre-packaged meal via the Yale Hospitality App. A user can place an order and then pick it up at their preferred dining hall at a predetermined pickup time. It consists of a sandwich or salad, an optional piece of fruit, dessert and a bottle of water.

According to Yale Hospitality, there are currently five SmartMeal options, which seem to be selections from common dining hall meals, like pasta, grilled chicken, sandwiches, falafel and salads, all accompanied by sides.

“We don’t think SmartMeals are super smart,” Krans said. “[The administration] is like, ‘We’re not doing to-go boxes; we’re doing smart meals instead because it’s sustainable.’ And then these smart meals are extremely wasteful and are dietarily inaccessible.”

Yale Hospitality told the News that the decision to remove to-go boxes was not made by them alone, but it was a “multifaceted decision” that involved Yale College administrators and others. As a result, Yale Hospitality alone “can’t give [to-go boxes] back.”

Yale Hospitality added that the SmartMeals program includes options catering to a variety of diets.

Krans, along with the rest of the YCC, held a “Berry and Boxes” event on Sept. 17 to solicit student opinions on this issue.

According to Sahra Wahedi ’27, deputy director of the YCC Dining Team, of the 1,500 respondents, 86.8 percent support an eco-friendly, reusable take-out container system. Many students referenced successful to-go programs at peer institutions, like Dartmouth and Cornell, as models for Yale’s implementation. Others brought up the topic of immunocompromised students who, without to-go boxes, are required to eat in the dining halls and potentially expose themselves to illnesses.

Dieynaba Ndiaye ’28 said that the lack of to-go boxes is unfair. She wishes that Yale administrators would be more considerate of the students they represent in enacting policies, especially pertaining to dining.

“I think there being no to-go boxes is idiotic,” Ndiaye said. “For me, a person pursuing higher education at a rigorous institution, I don’t always have the time of day to sit down and eat. I get that they’re trying to foster a sense of community, having us sit and eat, but two things can exist. You can work in the comfort of your home while eating.”

The YCC recently composed an open letter to administrators urging them to bring to-go boxes back to the dining halls.

According to Wahedi, the letter was a plea to consider the student body’s diverse commitments. She mentioned that 43 percent of student respondents to the YCC survey perceived the loss of to-go boxes as negatively impacting their lives to a “devastating degree”.

“I call on Yale administrators to consider students with academic, extracurricular, and athletic commitments that conflict with dining hall hours, immunocompromised students at risk, student-athletes dependent on caloric intake, and Muslim students who prefer to break their fast privately during dinner,” Wahedi wrote. 

According to Krans, the YCC has not received a response from the administration regarding the letter.

If the administration refuses to bring back the boxes, Krans has considered working with the YCC Sustainability Team to advocate for reusable to-go bags.

She has been working on this project since the summer and says that she is prepared to advocate for as long as the rest of the school year if need be.

She hopes to continue student body engagement and hopes that students are aware that their voices and expressions matter. She said that the best way for students to enact change to Yale policy is to submit their feedback to Yale Hospitality.

Yale students can provide feedback to Yale Hospitality here. 

Correction, Oct. 11: This article has been updated with comment from Yale Hospitality and information on the SmartMeals program.