Supporters of a proposed student-run cooperative hope to compete with Panda Express before a lease with the chain restaurant is voted on at tonight's 6 p.m. ASUC Store Operations Board meeting.

Plans for the Berkeley Student Food Cooperative, which would sell deli food and locally grown produce, are moving forward with $90,000 already granted by ASUC's The Green Initiative Fund.

Supporters said they have also received assistance from local cooperative organizations and the campus, including $5,000 from the recent Bears Breaking Boundaries competition.

However, efforts to compete with Panda Express for a location on Lower Sproul conflict with ongoing negotiations between the board and the restaurant chain. At the April 5 board meeting, opposition to the chain's lease resulted in a 5-4 vote against approving a contract.

Opponents have said a vote on the Panda Express deal will reflect the values of the ASUC.

"We ultimately hope to move into the STA Travel space on campus, which is the space that Panda Express is also biding for," said Megan Coontz, president of external affairs for the Berkeley Student Cooperative, in an e-mail. "They have a choice between a profit-based chain or a cooperative enterprise."

After initially rejecting the contract, the board voted to continue negotiations with Panda Express, dependent on the chain's acceptance of additional standards of environmental sustainability.

Coontz added that the cooperative, which could open this fall, does not ultimately depend on the outcome of the proposed Panda Express deal.

"Whether we are given a space on campus or not, the BSFC project will go forward," she said.

According to ASUC Auxiliary Director Nadesan Permaul, securing the spaces will require reaching an agreement with vendors who have already offered sublets to Panda Express. Such a process precludes public bidding because it does not require a new lease agreement, he said.

"(Panda Express) negotiated access to that space by agreeing to relocate them," Permaul said. "(The original vendors) have the contract."

Permaul said Panda Express would draw foot traffic to Lower Sproul Plaza, which would help struggling businesses.

"When you get foot traffic you have residual business," he said.

Arthur Chang, real estate manager for Panda Express, declined to comment on the details of the contract but said the company was willing to meet the board's new eco-friendly terms.

"We're gonna modify our operations to address these concerns," he said. "But the final decision rests with the ASUC and their students."

Opponents to the deal said the fast-food chain cannot offer the same benefits of a student-run business.

"We are invested in a vision of a Lower Sproul which doesn't include a fast-food chain," said Yonatan Landau, a Berkeley Student Food Cooperative leader. "It's about student ownership."

Tags: THE GREEN INITIATIVE FUND, ASUC