South Campus Dining Hall
Rather than buying an extra cookie or fries, more than 2,600 students Thursday were willing to give up a dining point to help others without easy access to food.
Students raised $2,642 for So Others Might Eat, an organization that provides meals, clothes and other assistance for Washington’s homeless and poor. The Residence Hall Association, Food Recovery Network and College Park Scholars Public Leadership program organized a meal point drive that beat 2012’s record total of $2,317.
“We have had many, many drives like these in the past, and our success with these donation drives goes up every year,” said Sasha Azar, RHA president, who noted the drive only raised $800 when she volunteered as a freshman in 2009. “To be able to see this many students who want to help out, or get rid of extra meal points, is something really rewarding.”
However, Dining Services only allows each student to donate one meal point — a typical dining plan ranges from about $1,800 to more than $2,000 — to ensure the department does not lose a substantial amount of money, said Bart Hipple, Dining Services spokesman. If students donate too many points, he said, the department would have to increase the meal plan’s price to make up for the number of points given away. Hipple noted there are about 8,000 students with dining plans, and if each of them gave away one point, Dining Services would lose $8,000.
“It’s a very interesting effort that is valuable to the community, and we don’t mind facilitating it once a semester,” he explained. “But at the same time, we are trying to put a limit on the amount that might leave our system.”
But some students said Dining Services shouldn’t cap how much students can donate, especially as dining points do not roll over after each semester and students could contribute to the community rather than waste points.
“It’s a very good concept, and I can see that more people would be willing to donate just one,” said Sarah Neillands, a freshman business major. “But the fact that the points don’t roll over means that I always have extra, and I would be more than willing to donate them.”
Whether the donation is in the hundreds or thousands, SOME staff members said they always appreciate any money the university can contribute. And efforts have been ramped up in recent years with the creation of this university’s chapter of the Food Recovery Network, which takes unused food that would be thrown out and donates it to others.
“Now we consistently receive great donations from the University of Maryland as well as American University,” said SOME Donations Coordinator Greg Chudy.
