When examining our sales numbers from the two weeks leading up to the boycott and the two weeks since the beginning of the boycott, we found a slim, at best, increase in revenue.
It is simply incorrect to portray The Meantime as receiving substantial financial benefit from the boycott. As the only non-profit, student-run food enterprise in a permanent location on campus, The Meantime inhabits uncharted territory.
We are a company of full-time students who are trying our best to benefit both this campus and the greater community we inhabit in North Carolina. Every member of our organization is learning on the job. If we mess up every now and then, we appreciate the feedback.
We are keenly aware of what our existence means not just to UNC today, but to our University, student body, and future student-run retail enterprises in the coming years. For these reasons, we tread carefully.
We’ve provided jobs on campus for 36 undergraduate students and counting. We are proud to brew coffee from Carrboro Coffee Roasters, a local small batch artisan roaster, and serve baked goods from The Sonder Market, a UNC student-run food venture that addresses food insecurity in the Chapel Hill community.
In partnership with the Campus Y, we have contributed $10,000 of our profits to fund the inaugural Bridge Year Fellowship, awarded to two Carolina sophomores. Fellows Araseli Valverde and Kaitlin Galindo are now taking a year to engage in international service.
We made a statement denouncing the Board of Governors’ litigation ban on the UNC Center for Civil Rights and are taking donations in the café to help support the Center’s cause.
Just last Thursday and Friday, we donated our baked goods from The Sonder Market to support Nourish UNC’s Hunger Lunch program, feeding students who are participating in the boycott and raising more funds for the Center. We also gave out free-of-charge espresso drinks for suggested donations to the Center on Friday and Saturday as our new baristas honed their espresso skills.
The Meantime is just over a year old, but we’re proud of the impact we’ve made.
We aim to benefit UNC and North Carolina, and we will continue to do what is in our power to stand up for what is right.