Clubs, departments, and other campus organizations can post photos and information about leftover food from their events in the Hungry Hamilton group chat inviting students to come dig in — for free! From burrito bowls and stir-fry noodles to matcha brownies and chocolate cake, the group connects starving stomachs to delectable treats.
The Hungry Hamilton initiative was proposed and pushed forward by student Hamilton Sustainability Coordinators (HSCers). Caroline Meers ’28, one of the HSCers spearheading the project, said, “Shey [Sanges’26] and I started Hungry Hamilton this past fall because we noticed a lot of campus issues regarding food waste, with food sitting out or getting thrown out after events.”
Sanges added, “I run the Harvest program on campus, so I was already pretty aware of food issues and food waste concerns, but we’d struggled to get into catering with Harvest because it’s more buffet style. That doesn’t adhere to the public safety guidelines for food waste.”
After receiving enthusiastic feedback from the EPS&S, Sanges and Meers dove into researching possible solutions to catering waste. Through communications with other institutions, the HSCers became aware of leftover sharing programs and designed a proposal to present to the College administration for what is now Hungry Hamilton.
Sara Soika, an environmental health and safety specialist in EPS&S, credits student interest and involvement for the development of many sustainability initiatives on-campus.
“Students see things on social media, or know a friend doing it at their college, or see the need on campus. We want to help them facilitate getting their projects off the ground,” Soika said. “Students have a big drive in projects. Some initiatives aren’t going to go anywhere unless the students drive it and buy in.”
The student buy-in for Hungry Hamilton has been immediate and enthusiastic. The group chat already boasts 360 members and leftovers listings are frequent. Meers said, “I saw an event that had 12 leftover boba and within four minutes, all 12 were gone. That club probably feels better now about having a few leftovers rather than wasting money.”
When Sanges posted leftover snacks from one of her events, she was thrilled to hear the positive reception. “People came and were like, ‘oh my gosh, this is going to be my study snack tonight!’ Or they were going to save it for the train because it was right before spring break, so they didn’t need to buy food on Amtrak,” she said.
With an estimated 150 lbs. of food wasted in one month from campus events, Hungry Hamilton seeks to ensure delicious food is never wasted, and hungry college students get fed.
Posted April 21, 2026
