This school year, the longstanding tradition of Deerfield “feeds” has undergone a change in terminology with post study hall food now known as “snacks.” The transition in wording is intended to foster a more voluntary and less pressured tone around “snacks.”
The Student Life Office and the Nutrition Department worked to find a word that was more flexible and inviting with the intention to steer away from language that sounded forceful or harsh. Although “feeds” are a large part of dorm rituals at Deerfield, Counselor Sarah Rosenthal acknowledged that “words matter” and the language “didn’t quite feel in line with a normalized relationship with food,” he said.
The word “snack” seemed to provide room for flexibility in regards to amount and participation, because as Ms. Rosenthal said, “We all snack. It just feels like there is more fluidity to having a small snack.” With the use of the word “feed,” Ms. Rosenthal said, “Sometimes people felt compelled to have large quantities of food, and that didn’t always feel comfortable for some folks.”
The proctors were informed of this adjustment by Dean of Residential Life Becca Melvoin during proctor orientation at Camp Greylock because proctors often hold the responsibility of serving as examples for underclassmen.
Elle Stearns ’23, a freshman proctor in Johnson said, “Ms. Melvoin explained that the switch is important to ensure that students feel less pressure around eating at such a late time of day.” She got the impression that “the administration wanted to become more aware of eating disorders and how ‘snacks’/‘feeds’ affect people.”
Ms. Melvoin said that the word “snack” implies a friendly communal experience, whereas the word “feed” evokes the image of “animals feeding in a trough.”
Some students still catch themselves reverting back to past terminology out of habit. Natasha Steinert ’23, a sophomore proctor in Mather, said, “I find myself saying feed because I’m used to it from my previous three years.” However, she emphasized, “If this is able to help the community by making snacks seem more flexible, optional, or casual, then I think this is a good thing.”
Other students also support this change, such as Alex Hermsdorf ’25. As a new sophomore, her impression of snacks has been “a friendly time where everyone can just come enjoy a snack with everyone together,” she said. Hermsdorf added, “Feed sounds harsher [while] snack sounds more open and friendly.”
While proctors and hall residents have passed the news onto students, Deerfield has not publicly recognized the shift in terminology and the reasoning, resulting in differing opinions and ideas for why this could have possibly taken place. Deerfield feeds have been rooted in dorm tradition and for many students, are a key part of the Deerfield dorm experience.
Lucas Zheng ’23, a sophomore proctor in Scaife said, “It’s not really affecting the way I’m choosing ‘snacks’ since I already have that conception of what it should be as a proctor.” Zheng added, “I guess it might be more of a way to put less of an expectation that a feed needs to be a meal and it’s not really that helpful. At this point in time it’s just a change in what it’s called and nothing else.”
Thomas Harrick ’23, a four-year senior, echoed Zheng’s uncertainty about implementing this change: “It’s a snack inherently but it’s like renaming the Evensong to the ‘Deerfield Anthem.’ Feeds are a part of Deerfield tradition. [The wording] doesn’t matter that much and I don’t know if it’s worth putting in the effort to change it,” he said.
With a lack of communication about the reasoning behind the shift, some students felt indifferent about the change or expressed annoyance around changing a Deerfield tradition. Izzy Ramirez ’25 expressed her confusion, saying that, “I think it’s a change that seems important but at the same time if it was such a bad word to use and affected the community in such a way that we needed change, they should have explained the [reasoning] to us.”Adjusting the wording from “feed” to “snack” is one of the steps Deerfield is taking in an attempt to create a more fluid attitude around food and eating on campus. Ms. Rosenthal said, “There can be lots of different kinds of things that you might have as a snack. There is more room for diversity in the foods provided with different people needing different snacks.”