For financial reasons, Bowdoin College Dining Service has decided to discontinue its policy of transferring board points to charitable organizations.
Previously, students were able to sign up to donate the costs that would have funded their meal or meals for a given day to a charitable organization. But the process has become too much for the dining service to handle, according to Director of Dining Services Mary Lou Kennedy.
In the past few years, when student groups offered members of the community the opportunity to donate meal money to charity, the dining service took a financial hit.
"When we began this program, about one group, maybe two, a year was taking advantage of this opportunity," said Kennedy. "There have been so many new student groups within the past few years that the number of requests has proliferated."
According to Kennedy, each request for a transfer of board has to be processed individually, which is time consuming. This sacrifices attention at the expense of other areas of dining.
Kennedy also noted that all the labor necessary for processing the transfer of board going to charity costs more than the amount of money being donated.
Charitable contributions as a whole have changed at Bowdoin over the past few years. The new Community Service Resource Center (CSRC) has become a resource for students to meet their community service goals and benefit the community.
Some student group leaders were frustrated by the policy change.
Shelly Barron '09 said she transferred meals in the past and is disappointed that this opportunity no longer exists.
"I think it is rather unfortunate that dining service has discontinued the service," she said. "It was a great way for students to do something small. It was also a way for students to experience a sort of connection?however removed and trivial?to the issue the fundraiser addressed."
Some student groups found out about the policy during meals which were originally supposed to raise money for charities. Bowdoin Hillel, for instance, advertised the option of donating meal funds to a charitable organization during fasting on Yom Kippur, only to find that the option was no longer available.
According to Susan Dorn, the director of the Community Service Resource Center, the transfer of board points "has been helpful, but has served more as a supplemental way in which to raise funds, not a primary venue."
The dining service continues to donate appropriate leftover food to the Midcoast Hunger Prevention Program through Campus Kitchens, a program that began several years ago under the guidance of Ian Yaffe '09. In addition to those regular donations, the dining service also prepares a full meal for the Tedford Family Shelter each month.