When the evening's notable guest has answered the last question, dishes and linens are returned to the kitchen, and pots and pans stowed for the night, the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum staff turns its attention to one final task: distributing any leftover food to someone in need. For years, the food was picked up by a local organization that fed homeless individuals in the Pomona Valley.
When that organization lost funding this spring, food donations were at riskuntil April Wilson '04 stepped up to the plate. An Athenaeum Fellow and coordinator in the CMC Community Service Office, Wilson shared Chef Dave Skinner's concern that the leftover meals not go to waste. "He's passionate about getting food to people who need it," Wilson says, "and it was an idea I'd thought about, in terms of the dining halls, for the past three years."
But Wilson didn't just think about it, reports Bonnie Snortum, MMCA director. "When she heard our donation effort was at risk, April researched other places able to accept prepared food donations and mobilized students to get involved."
The result: a new student-planned, student-run, food donation program that will deliver the Ath's extras to Pomona's Victory Outreach Women's Shelter. With a team of volunteer drivers, Wilson has established a once-a-week delivery plan. "We have a very active freshman class in the Community Service Office, and they're really taking initiative to get this up and running," Wilson says. "Students from the Class of 2007 have formed a club, Food For Thought, to eliminate food waste and support the cause. Two CMC students hope to get Collins Dining Hall donations, too, so I hope the effort will grow next year."
"It's not hard to do," she adds. "Our volunteers can pick up the food, deliver it to the shelter, and be back on campus within an hour's time. We hope we can set an example with this program, to start it in all of the 5-C dining halls."
Says Bonnie Snortum: "It's great that April found a way for us to continue our donation effort. It's one of the more inspiring aspects of my jobworking with the students here. They see a need, they take charge, and they do something about it," she said. "Things like this give me such a positive feeling about this new generation of leaders."