A pilot program will be launched for a new student organization, ComMUniFEED, Tuesday, April 30 at the Oxford Bible Fellowship. The goal of this organization, according to its website, is to implement a sustainable program within the greater Oxford area that will work to relieve food insecurity by connecting excess food resources from Miami University's dining system to families in need.
The USDA defines food insecurity as "consistent access to adequate food [that is] limited by a lack of money and other resources at times during the year."
One statistic the group is using to rally people is that parents of low-income families in the Oxford community will skip, on average, ten meals a month, according to ComMUniFeed.
This program is a student effort working through Miami's Entrepreneurship Institute in collaboration with Miami's Housing and Dining Services. The students were all in a social entrepreneurship class (ESP 464) taught by Brett Smith, director of Miami's Institute for Entrepreneurship and founding director for the Center for Social Entrepreneurship, as well as a professor in the Farmer School of Business.
Smith said his class gives students hands on experience to use entrepreneurship principles to organize, create and manage solutions for social change.
"On a broad level, [the class is] innovative solutions to social problems," he said. "It asks how do we best use the innovation and creativity to solve problems such as hunger and poverty."
According to Smith and David Rosenthal, a professor of marketing who used to teach the class, the students' desire to help the community in a meaningful way set the project in motion.
"It was students who came up with this idea, students who jumped on it and said, 'We can make a difference,'" Rosenthal said. "Faculty added support, but it was the students' idea. Miami and Food Services want to do this. And it's not an easy thing to do, although it may seem easy. If we do this in the right way, we have the potential to make a significant difference in the long run."
According to Rosenthal, he and Smith had written a case study four years ago on the Freestore Foodbank in Cincinnati about a project they were involved with and the efforts they were taking to provide better and more food for the needy in the region. This sparked the students to ask what they could do for their own community.
"The students decided they wanted to make a difference by finding a way to repurpose the food that was thrown out at the end of the day by dining halls and make it possible to donate it to the needy," Rosenthal said.
According to Rosenthal, about 150 families in the Oxford area use the Oxford Community Choice Food Pantry.
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"Nationwide, roughly one person in six will be food insecure at some point during the year," Rosenthal said. "This is not just an issue with homeless or unemployed. Food insecurity/hunger occurs in urban and rural settings, for all ages including small children and the elderly and everyone in between. My bet is that there are Miami students who have the problem, and don't let folks know about it."
According to Rosenthal, the ComMUniFEED organization partners with The Campus Kitchens Project, which convinced Miami administrators to put their support behind this endeavor. It works through the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act that minimalizes the liability of food donations to nonprofits in accordance to the law.
Rosenthal added that Miami was hesitant about being involved with something like this in the past because they wanted to make sure they did not provide tainted food in any way. They took a conservative stance to keep anyone who would receive the food safe and healthy.
"What the university has to do is be very careful, making sure that whatever is done with the food is done in a responsible way," Smith said. "They have to make sure the food is taken care of properly. There's a huge risk when it comes to the food safety issue."
Nancy Heidtman, an administrator in Housing, Dining, Recreation and Business Services, said the program is beginning to take shape.
However, she said aspects of the program are yet to be completed.
"The students need to address the food items deemed safe by the Ohio Revised Code for distribution in a timely manner for consumption," she said. "Stringent criteria must be met, refrigerated vehicles a must."
When ComMUniFEED partnered with Campus Kitchens, they were able to set the Miami administrator's minds at ease. By showing Miami that other campuses were successful with this, the university jumped on board, according to Rosenthal.
Senior Abby Sapadin, who has previously worked in the dining halls, said she thinks this is a great opportunity for Miami to do something positive for the community.
"I think it's great," she said. "It's sad that they didn't do it sooner because it's such a waste, but if they're putting that food to good use, there's always a way to give back. Once the rest of the student body can see how they can make a difference, hopefully it'll encourage them to also do something."
Rosenthal said he thinks this can be beneficial to many people at Miami, from students to administrators.
"Obviously the needy can be benefited by this, I also believe that Miami, as a member of the community can benefit," he said. "The students who can be a part of the solution to a nationwide problem are benefiting. Educationally, we can learn how to move a project forward using social entrepreneurship methods."
Smith added that the program allows the student body to become more cohesive as they work together to better the community.
"I think in a big picture level, the neat part is that students can make a huge difference in the world and their community," he said. "Students are coming together to work with the university and the Oxford Bible Fellowship, it's a wonderful example of the kinds of things that can be done."
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