The student group G.I.V.E.S., an organization committed to assisting marginalized populations, teamed up with H.O.P.E., a student group that seeks to provide food to D.C.’s homeless population, and Aramark this week to increase advertising of Grab-and-Give, a program that allows students to donate their leftover meal swipes to Martha’s Table, a local soup kitchen.
The program’s introduction in 2007 was greeted with substantial public support, but in the past years, student awareness of the initiative has dwindled, a trend that can be credited to Aramark’s failure to advertise the program and present students with clear information about its benefits.
While the underlying principles of Grab-and-Give are admirable, the reality of the program is less than ideal. Students are only allowed to donate their extra swipes once a week on Fridays.
Additionally, when students donate a swipe, Aramark does not donate the full value of the swipe, which ranges from $10 to $12. Each donation only contributes the “equivalent” of a meal in a soup kitchen. This amount translates to $2-3, about $7 short of what students pay every time they eat at Leo’s.
Meals donated to Grab-and-Give should be equal to the dollar value of the donation, not a meal “equivalent.” The program in its present form is unfair not only to the students who donate their meals, but also to those who could have benefited from them.
A study released by UC San Francisco last May found that meals served in soup kitchens contain high-fat contents and low amounts of fiber and essential vitamins. Allocating $2-3 per meal simply does not allow soup kitchens to provide impoverished people with the nutrition they need.
Despite its problems, Grab-and-Give’s new partnership with G.I.V.E.S may prove beneficial in increasing the program’s effectiveness and student awareness of the program. (https://mgtrailer.com/) The current lack of clear public information only hinders the value and success of the program. Increased publicity from G.I.V.E.S will at the very least increase the number of student donations. Ideally, this advertising would also inform students about the actual benefits of the program.
Aramark has so far been unresponsive to H.O.P.E.’s efforts to enhance the program’s benefits. H.O.P.E., with the added efforts of G.I.V.E.S, needs to continue to press Aramark to increase the volume and quality of advertising of Grab-and-Give.
Students cannot back down to Aramark’s obstinance because, if history tells us anything, it is that student advocacy will be the driving force in improving Grab-and-Give.
