Binghamton University takes part in Stop Hunger Food Drive
Annual initiative provides the campus community with an opportunity to give back by addressing food insecurity.
The Stop Hunger food drive empowered the Binghamton campus community to give back in a non-traditional way by asking for donations at dining hall registers across campus, raising enough money to provide 17,980 meals. The donations are used to provide nutritious meals for individuals and families in need, creating lasting community impact.
Binghamton University Dining Services (BUDS), operated by Sodexo, has taken part in the Stop Hunger Food Drive for over 20 years. The mission of Stop Hunger, Sodexo’s charity arm, is to stop hunger by implementing numerous programs and providing massive disaster relief efforts. BUDS utilizes this aspect of the company to support the local community.
BUDS Sustainability Manager Christopher Harasta said he feels that the staff did a phenomenal job engaging with the students and talking to them about the importance of this drive, where the food goes and how it impacts the community. On campus, they hosted a friendly competition to raise funds, and the staff collectively raised hundreds of dollars each.
Once the money was raised, they asked Stop Hunger what they needed, and BUDS will now go and purchase it for them. This model works twofold by allowing BUDS to purchase high-quality bulk deals on food that they would not find at the grocery store and it also helped students utilize their meal plan money.
“It’s been a longstanding tradition of us supporting our community and the local food pantry here on campus and I think it’s great because these organizations, these pantries, whether it’s Community Hunger Outreach Warehouse (CHOW), which gets half of the money or half of the food we purchase goes to them, or if it’s our on-campus food pantry, which gets the other half,” Harasta said. “They need this. Like these organizations, especially now in the local community, are having a hard time getting funding for their programs and this is an opportunity for us to support them and the work they do.”
Giovanni Carrero, a fourth-year environmental science student at Harpur College of Arts and Sciences, President of the Food Recovery Network and an intern at BUDS, found the experience to be very rewarding.
“I was drawn to help out with the drive after noticing the level of food insecurity within the University and Broome County as a whole,” he said. “My experience with the drive was very rewarding, and it inspired me to start giving back to the community more and working with the dining halls to turn leftover food into meals that get brought to the on-campus food pantry. The Stop Hunger Drive can be used to provide for those in need as well as educate students on the high level of food insecurity in the surrounding area.”
Alongside BUDS, CHOW and the Binghamton University Food Pantry were at the heart of this initiative. CHOW, the local food bank, played an essential role in distributing donated meals to individuals and families in need throughout Broome County. The Binghamton University Food Pantry expanded its mission on campus by providing a welcoming, judgment-free space where students can access essential food items and personal care resources. Together, these partners helped ensure that both the campus community and local residents will receive nourishment and support.
In the past, the Binghamton University community has consistently come together to raise funds, providing an average of approximately 20,000 meals each semester and will continue this tradition with its upcoming Spring 2026 drive.
For more information about this and other BUDS initiatives, please visit binghamton.sodexomyway.com/en-us/.