Chicago students raise funds to cover foodservice workers’ polar vortex commutes

Students at the University of Chicago have raised more than $1,650 for employees of the school’s dining halls who traveled to work during last week’s polar vortex.

The Cold Weather Fund started last Thursday aims to reimburse staffers for the cost of taking a ride-share or cab to work while temperatures hit record lows. Though much of the UChicago campus was closed last Wednesday and Thursday due to weather, the school’s three dining halls stayed open, according to university newspaper The Chicago Maroon.

“We were thinking [dining staff] would be taking Ubers instead of waiting for public transportation, which would mean that they would stand [for] 15 minutes waiting for a bus, or just walking," Abdelrahman Abdo, one of the fund’s organizers, shared with The Maroon.

Staff who drove themselves to work on those days would receive $10 from the fund, while those who paid for a ride would be reimbursed in full.

Organizers said that the fund was not meant to “shame” Bon Appetit, which handles the school’s foodservice. Bon Appetit paid workers four hours of overtime for coming in last Wednesday, the group confirmed to the newspaper.

Read the full story via The Chicago Maroon.