By Andrea Fernandes
Features Assignment Editor
Giving back to the community is one of the things stressed to students here at Bonaventure. With this teaching, it’s expected that the University does its part to ensure that as a whole, we really are practicing what we preach.
It’s important to recognize that St. Bonaventure is located in Cattaraugus County, one of the five poorest counties in New York State. Many of the Hickey dining hall workers, if not all of them, live in Cattaraugus County. The average household income for this area is only about $39,000. In such a poor county, the university should do its part to further help members of the county who are employed here, and other members of the town.
According to one Hickey worker, the food and desserts left over at the end of the night have to be thrown out. It’s inhumane to trash perfectly good food when there are people in dire need of it.
Considering the average household income of the county our school is located in, trashing leftovers shouldn’t occur. Food being trashed simply because it’s the rules and regulations of Aramark is absurd. It does not seem like there’s a logical explanation for why workers are not allowed to take leftover food home, other than the fact that it’s Aramark rules and regulations.
In addition to Hickey workers not being able to take leftovers for their families at the end of the night, the food can’t be donated to those in need.
“We cannot sanction the donation of left-over food, as we cannot guarantee the safe transport, storage and preparation of the food once it leaves our premises,” an Aramark spokesperson said.
Some restaurants in New York City donate leftover food at the end of the day. Organizations like City Harvest are dedicated to feeding hungry people by picking up any excess food from restaurants and other places.
The food is then distributed to soup kitchens and homeless shelters. If this can be done in the city, there’s no reason why something similar can’t be organized here.
Since the Warming House in Olean is relatively small, one possible solution to this issue could be to have families sign up to receive the food that is left over at the end of the night from the Hickey. We could have a designated place on campus where a member of the family can collect their portion of food.
Aramark rules and regulations need to be altered. The university should work with Aramark to alleviate hunger in the area. Not only will this ultimately help strengthen the relationship between Bonaventure and the town, but it’s also the Franciscan thing to do since we will be helping those in need.
Many students go into Allegany and it doesn’t hurt to build a stronger relationship with the town through such services.
There are people going
There are people going to bed hungry each night, and there’s something we can do to help. New York City has already implemented programs that are helping to minimize hunger, so why can’t we do the same?
