Have you ever worried about where your next meal will come from? If you have, then you already know the agonizing pain of hunger that pierces your stomach without hesitation.
If you have never felt this feeling, this is your chance to help. According to a 2010 statistic published in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Chester County Food Bank serves meals to approximately 110,000 residents each year.
Out of over 499,000 residents living in Chester County, approximately 22 percent of Chester County residents were in need of food last year. While this issue is a grave injustice in itself, the real problem is that, in many high schools and universities, extra food is simply wasted rather than donated to the people who actually need it.
As students and faculty members of West Chester University, we are used to seeing the shelves and countertops at campus dining facilities fully stocked with nutritious fare. What many of us do not realize, however, is that any food left over at the end of the day is thrown out, regardless of whether or not the food even made it out of the kitchen.
This semester, Aramark (the food service provider for WCU) and the Office of Student Leadership and Involvement, have created a project that takes the unused food from dining facilities and distributes it to local homeless shelters and food cupboards.
The program, called Take-Out Hunger, is a food rescue initiative that will provide meals to the hungry in the West Chester community. Through Take-Out Hunger, WCU volunteers, together with Aramark employees, package and transport untouched food to local shelters, such as Safe Harbor of Greater West Chester and the West Chester Salvation Army.
Take-Out Hunger is an incredible volunteer opportunity for any student or faculty member interested in giving time to a charitable cause.
The program begins every Wednesday at 6:45 p.m. at Lawrence Dining Hall. Volunteers are not required to provide their own transportation to the non-profit organizations.
If you are interested in volunteering with Take-Out Hunger, please contact Ellen Howard at EH672679@wcupa.edu.