University of Wisconsin’s Student Services Finance Committee, the allocations branch of the Associated Students of Madison, met Oct. 13 to hold an open forum and discuss Slow Food UW’s application for the General Student Services Fund. 

Rep. Roman Fritz also expressed concern about cuts to Sex Out Loud, a peer to peer sexual health resource according to SOL’s website, but the majority of the meeting focused on Slow Food’s application.

Slow Food is a non-profit organization on UW’s campus dedicated to providing good, clean and fair food to UW students and campus community. Slow Food supports local and sustainable food production according to the organization’s website.

Slow Food is located at The Crossing UW, at 1127 University Ave. On Mondays and Wednesdays, for seven to eight dollars, students can purchase a meal made in the Madison community.

If chosen for approval for the General Student Services Fund, student organizations at UW are provided access to supplies and salary funds for the purpose of providing services and programming to UW students, according to the GSSF’s website. 

Slow Food is dedicated to providing consistently accessible food at a reasonable price, according to communications director for Slow Food UW Olivia Hernandez.

“We want to make sure these meals are accessible to everybody as they can to anybody who wants to partake,” Hernandez said. 

Slow Food asked the Student Services Finance Committee for $20,500, divided into $19,000 for ingredients, as well as $1,500 for overall supplies including kitchenware and cleaning equipment.

Slow Food is entirely student run, and it is entirely here for the campus community, Hernandez said. The organization has 60 interns and 13 directors, Hernandez said.

The SSFC has not made a decision on Slow Food’s eligibility for the General Student Services Fund. The decision is expected to be made on Thursday, ASM press office director Drew Wesson said in an email.

“A meal is a great way to bring community together,” Hernandez said.