Ole Miss Fraternities Partner with Grove Grocery to Fight Hunger
Students facing food insecurity can grab home-cooked meals from refrigerators around campus
OXFORD, Miss. – Fraternity members at the University of Mississippi view Greek life as more than tradition, rituals and the letters they wear. It also carries a responsibility to give back to the campus community.
The Ole Miss Interfraternity Council, composed of 16 fraternities, recently cooked up a student-led partnership with Grove Grocery, the campus food pantry, to ensure that students across campus have a meal each day
IFC member volunteers package unused meals prepared by chefs at their fraternity houses four days a week. Then they deliver the food to three refrigerators across campus for anyone to grab without question.
“Every student deserves a good meal, and we have the resources to make that happen,” said Braedan Watters, IFC president and a senior biology major from Madison.
Watters, a member of Kappa Alpha Order fraternity, said the idea for the Grove to Table donations began last spring when house mom “Aunt Mary” mentioned finding better use of leftover food. He began brainstorming with Diego Abele, vice president of IFC council affairs and programming.
“We figured there were plenty of students who might not know when their next meal is going to be or how they’ll afford it,” said Abele, a senior political science and philosophy major from Austin, Texas.
“Fraternities are often seen as exclusive, but this program is about inclusivity of all students. Braedan and I wanted to make sure we had a program where food could be delivered to anyone who needs it.”
The new IFC partnership bolsters the existing Grove to Table program. Ole Miss students can sign up for a notification whenever remaining food is available following campus events or meetings, and when fraternities deliver food.
Co-led by the UMatter: Student Support and Advocacy Office, the program targets food insecurity and food waste on campus. Students can opt into the GroupMe for notifications at any time and more than 150 students registered by the first week of school.
Alarms over food insecurity among both undergraduate and graduate students on U.S. college campuses began ringing louder in the wake of the COVID pandemic. The latest research shows some 4 million college students experienced uncertain or limited access to adequate and nutritious food to live a healthy lifestyle, as defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Twenty-eight percent of students at Ole Miss report struggling with food insecurity in some capacity, according to the latest Healthy Minds survey.
Stocking the Grove Grocery costs around $2,000 per week, said Capri Lobotzke, the resource's student director and a senior biomedical engineering major in the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College from Colorado Springs.
“It is inspiring to see IFC fraternities recognizing the food insecurity faced by many on campus and stepping up to use their resources to address this need,” Lobotzke said. “Their support shows a genuine commitment to the well-being of our community at Ole Miss.”
The Interfraternity Council created a food committee to safely pack food from their houses four days per week and alert students who opt-in to the Grove to Table alerts when they’ve restocked any of the three designated refrigerators on campus. Photo by Hunt Mercier/Ole Miss Digital Imaging
IFC members are not alone in providing resources in the fight against hunger. Viking Range donated a refrigerator to Grove Grocery that is now located inside the Transit Center on the basement level of the Gertrude C. Ford Ole Miss Student Union.
Refrigerators are also located outside Grove Grocery, in Kinard Hall and at the George Street House, headquarters for the Office of Veteran and Military Services.
Volunteers complete food safety training before helping pack and transport the donated meals. Watters and Abele coordinate which IFC members will stock the refrigerators during lunchtime and dinner each Monday through Thursday.
Offering nutritious, grab-and-go meals in a variety of locations is no accident, said Abbie Austin, UMatter basic needs case manager.
“We’re very excited to add the Grove to Table Viking fridge in the Union because, as we know, that's a very centralized spot for students to get food – or really to do anything.”
The food will not go to waste on Fridays.
Since 2020, several Ole Miss fraternities and sororities have repurposed leftover food every Friday to deliver meals to Oxford residents who qualify for the income-based service. The partnership with the Oxford Community Market is called Flower of Life.
Grove to Table meals are meant to erase any lingering stigma over asking for help, no matter what one's situation may be, Abele said.
“We really don’t feel there is a threshold for who needs the food," he said. "If people need food, we believe they should have it. It’s as simple as that.
“With nearly half of our student body in Greek life, we have a responsibility to help ensure the whole campus is taken care of.”
To sign up for Grove to Table alerts, visit https://groupme.com/join_group/107190944/hYbql0u3.
Top: Jack Beaird, a senior business and entrepreneurship major from Dallas, stocks the new Grove Grocery refrigerator with lunch meals he packed from the Kappa Alpha Order fraternity house. Located in the Transit Center at the Gertrude C. Ford Student Union, Viking Range donated the large appliance, helping the university better support students. Photo by Hunt Mercier/Ole Miss Digital Imaging