Shippensburg University

Search
Search
News
Multimedia
Sports
Ship Life
Opinion
Subscribe
Entertainment
Send a Tip
Podcasts
Donate

Shippensburg University

°
Full Forecast

Tuesday, July 1, 2025

The Slate

Subscribe

Print Edition

  • News
  • Opinion
  • Ship Life
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Multimedia
  • Send a Tip
  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment
  • Ship Life
  • Multimedia
  • Podcasts
  • Special Issues
  • Send a Tip
  • Donate
Search

Subscribe

 

1/30/2019, 9:57am

Leftover food helps feed local community

By Shannon Long
Leftover food helps feed local community
Courtesy of TJ Dooley
Students help package leftover food in Reisner Dining Hall to take to local organizations. The packaged food provides additional meals for people.

Share

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Mail
  • Print

Every week, 40 pounds of food from Reisner Dining Hall is taken to local organizations that help feed the Shippensburg community.

This is made possible by the Shippensburg University Food Recovery Network, which is a chapter of the national Food Recovery Network. 

The national organization sends containers, gloves and scales. The SU chapter began in 2014 with an initiative from honors program students, according to junior TJ Dooley.

“You see the same faces, so it really connects the university with the community. It’s food that will have just been thrown away. It gets students connected with the community, and it also saves the university some money,” Dooley said.

The network collects food from Reisner Dining Hall that is left over — usually rice, soup, vegetables and meat — then packs and transports the food to local organizations such as churches. 

Most of these organizations have a free meal service. The food collected from SU is set out for people to take home with them for additional meals.

The SU Food Recovery Network is a volunteer-based group and looks for volunteers from student organizations that have service requirements. There are currently about 10 volunteers who show up on a regular basis. Those who volunteer also get a free meal, according to Dooley.

He began volunteering with the network during the second semester of his freshman year. 

It started as a food sustainability project for a human communications class, but now he spends about 10 hours a week volunteering. 

“I helped out one time and thought, ‘Oh, this is pretty cool.’ So I helped out every week after that,” he said.

Being a member of the Wood Honors College, Dooley hopes to turn his volunteering into his senior capstone project.

The group is also looking to expand to more dining halls, such as Kriner Dining Hall, in the next month or two. Members would like to collect food from other meal periods such as breakfast and dinner. However, this would require more volunteers to help out, Dooley said.

“It does make you feel good. Honestly, it only takes an hour-and-a-half,” he said. “It’s very easy. You meet some amazing people.”

Those who are interested in volunteering with the SU Food Recovery Network can contact Dooley at td0893@ship.edu.

Share



Related Stories

MSAQuilt_Jefferson.jpg

SU MSA director Diane Jefferson passes away at 72

By Evan Dillow

Shippensburg University student faces charges following assault in SU dorm

By Evan Dillow

DOGE spending cuts target AmeriCorps, impacting student volunteers and communities across the U.S.

By Evan Dillow


The Slate welcomes thoughtful discussion on all of our stories, but please keep comments civil and on-topic. Read our full guidelines here.


Most Popular


6/5/2025, 7:19pm

Shippensburg University student faces charges following assault in SU dorm

By Evan Dillow

6/27/2025, 2:32pm

SU MSA director Diane Jefferson passes away at 72


6/3/2025, 8:26am

The 2025 PSAC Championships leave the SU Women’s Track & Field team in fifth place



  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Work For Us
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Ship Life
  • Entertainment
  • Sports

All Rights Reserved

© Copyright 2025 The Slate

Powered by Solutions by The State News.