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It started as a question between four Boston College friends: What happens to all the extra food in the University’s dining halls at the end of the night?
When the then-sophomores found out that most of the unused food was discarded, they decided to take action. So Riley Collins, Stephany Shelton, Ashley Thibodeau and Emmie Monsein collaborated with Dining Services Associate Director of Food and Beverage Michael Kann to package all leftovers and donate the food to the Greater Boston Food Bank.
Three years later, the initiative has a name — Every Bite Counts — and a membership of more than 50 students, who are recruiting underclassmen to keep the program going when the four founders graduate in May. The group now donates to the Veterans Center in Cambridge and hopes to expand to Rosie’s Place and the Women’s Lunch Place during the spring semester.
“Hunger is such a huge issue in this country, but because it is not in front of our faces or in the communities where most of us live, it can be easy to overlook,” said Collins, a native of Washington, DC.
Shelton, who is from Minneapolis, adds, “With BC’s emphasis on service and getting students to do things in Boston, I think the appeal of Every Bite Counts is that it is something you can do on campus that affects the lives of people in the community.”
Every Bite Counts sends a small army of students to the dining halls around 8 p.m. every night. Any trays of food that were prepared, but not served, are packaged with the assistance of Dining Service workers. Students then bring the trays to waiting refrigerated vans from the nonprofit groups.
Representatives from Every Bite Counts set up for the first time this year at Student Activities Day, and found a warm reception from underclassmen.
“So many students that came to the table had the same reactions: ‘I can’t believe this is so new, I can’t believe I haven’t heard of this.’ It just makes a lot of sense to people,” said Shelton. “It’s so local and so close to us.”
“We look at it as a simple way to make a change,” said Collins. “The idea itself might not be so revolutionary, but it takes people who are willing to do it.”
This semester, the group plans to create a webpage, organize service trips to the shelters to strengthen the relationships with them, and help underclassmen take on the group’s administrative responsibilities.
“We take pride in the fact that this was something completely student-led and student-run,” said Thibodeau. “We hope that it can continue to be a student-driven program.”
To become involved in Every Bite Counts, contact the organizers at stephany.shelton@bc.edu, ashley.thibodeau@bc.edu, riley.collins@bc.edu and emmie.monsein@bc.edu