‘Tis the season at UNH for many students to be a bit overwhelmed by any remaining Dining Dollars that they have failed to use up over the last two semesters. Students are making more trips to Union Court, The Dairy Bar and cafes around campus in desperate attempts to spend whatever leftover money they have in their accounts.
However, there is an option to spend the rest of your Dining Dollars in a way that is selfless, and that prevents money from being wasted. With a tentative start date of May 8, there will be boxes placed at Wildcatessen and Philbrook Café where people can donate food products.
“When you get towards the end of the semester [there are] some students who might have some unused Dining Dollars and they [are] looking to donate… instead of lose…. It’s hard to donate just the Dining Dollars, so what we [are] able to do [is]… donate food items to Waysmeet,” Executive Director for Hospitality Services Bill McNamara said.
According to McNamara, this food drive has been going on for about three years. Each year it is put together and run by different individuals or student organizations and the collected food is donated to the Waysmeet Center.
“Students, group or individuals, usually come to [us] and say that they want to get it started… they don’t have the manpower or vehicles so that’s where [we] come in,” McNamara said.
The food drive gives students the opportunity to use the rest of their Dining Dollars that would otherwise be wasted while also giving back to the community. According to McNamara, by donating items to the food drive, leftover Dining Dollars are allocatec help feed fellow students or people within the surrounding community.
“We have these Dining Dollars and we don’t want to lose them and we want to [get] a little value and use out of them and there’s always some people in need,” McNamara said.
If you are among many students who find themselves unsure of how to put the rest of your Dining Dollars to good use, going to Wildcatessen and Philbrook Café to donate food may be the solution you have been looking for.
According to McNamara Wildcatessen and Philbrook Café are still looking for this year’s individual or group to partner with for the drive, but the decision will be made by May 8 when the food drive is scheduled to start.
The drive will go up until the last day of finals when the last few products will be taken to Waysmeet for donation. All students are welcome and encouraged to donate during this time period. Suggested donations are foods with higher health and nutritional value, but all items donated will be accepted.
