Meals with Heels unites students with professors

Inviting professors for a meal outside the classroom can build relationships and lead to academic success — but it’s expensive.

The student-created program Meals with Heels helps to solve this problem and get students together with those professors for a free meal at a campus dining location of their choice. It is trying to expand this year.

“Students don’t usually meet their professor, and we want them to take advantage of the project,” said Irene Neequaye, a UNC graduate who founded the project last year.

She said students who want to use the service need to schedule a meal with their professors first and fill out a form on the website. Students receive a meal card to have a free meal with their professors at campus dining locations.

Neequaye said the program started as a research project for a class, Education 318.

“We brainstormed the things that were lacking in our Carolina experience and came out with the faculty-student relationship,” she said.

Neequaye said students often line up for office hours — but they don’t really know their professors.

Hallie Kloots, a graduate assistant for the Department of Housing and Residential Education, which oversees the Meals with Heels program, said students have enjoyed the opportunity since the program started in the 2012-13 school year.

The program has been used by 93 students and 53 professors since its creation.

The housing department currently funds the program, but Kloots said they are working to expand by partnering with other campus departments, such as Carolina Dining Services.

Scott Myers, director of food and vending for Carolina Dining Services, said he was told that six meal cards have been funded each semester with $50 on each.

The meals cards have been reduced from six to four this semester, but the total budget remains the same and each card is worth more.

“Our dining team has met with these ladies to see how we can help them, but they really are the driving force,” Myers said about the founders.

Kloots said students who live on campus are eligible for the meal cards, which can be used at any campus dining location.

“Most students tend to use Alpine and Lenoir,” she said.

UNC freshman Wei Zhou goes to office hours of all her professors every week but said she still feels like it is not enough.

Sharing a meal could help, she said.

“We only talked about academic issues in office hours, but I really want to talk more about personal stuff.”

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