With 179 students currently in quarantine because of COVID-19, the demand for safe food distribution skyrocketed over the last week, but healthy students are stepping up to help meet the need.
Equip Ministries, a student-led organization that provides small-group ministry and service opportunities, sent student volunteers to help package food for distribution when Bon Appetit requested help.
“Bon Appetit has been doing yeoman’s work all semester preparing and serving food under a slate of new precautions,” said senior Spencer Rothfuss, student chairman of Equip. “Their staff is equipped to feed the hundreds of students in the dining room, but with the new case load, they have been forced into working overtime to prepare meals in all formats.”
David Apthorpe, General Manager of Bon Appetit, asked for volunteers to help package food since the company is now in charge of providing food for the cafeteria, campus grab-and-go locations, and every student in quarantine.
Bon Appetit delivers three meals a day for 123 students quarantined on campus, as well as for students off campus at 20 different locations. It caters to 18 special diets. The college provides four delivery drivers.
“We’re grateful to the college to assist in the volunteer effort,” Apthorpe said. “The volume of meals will dictate the need. We are really focusing on the short-term, including involving our catering team and separating the production from the main dining room to provide better focus to both.”
Rothfuss took charge of leading the new daily volunteer program to help package food after Associate Dean of Men Chief Rogers asked Equip to help.
“Chief reached out to Equip Ministries Sunday afternoon to see if our students could help the Bon Appetit staff package the food to be delivered,” Rothfuss said. “We sent one email asking for six volunteers a day for every day this week and had every slot filled within 24 hours.”
Although food packaging volunteering is open to all students, Rothfuss said this opportunity aligned directly with Equip’s mission.
“As Christians, feeding the hungry and visiting the imprisoned is part of our job description, and I’m just glad Chief knew that,” Rothfuss said.
He said he saw food packaging as an opportunity to show hospitality rather than extra work.
“It’s been a harder semester than usual, without a doubt, but no one has ever come to Hillsdale because it’s easy,” Rothfuss said. “The response to our request for volunteers shows that, at least to Equip Ministries, Hillsdale is still worth the fight.”
Students both within Equip and outside the ministry have signed up to package food.
Senior Chris Gauthier, an Equip volunteer, said he was excited to help.
“Given all that the school is doing to keep us here, I figured this was the least I could do,” Gauthier said. “I really enjoyed packaging food and was happy to help out. Also, we got to put Bible verses in the meals we packed, which was really cool.”
His new perspective of the food distribution system made him much more grateful for his situation.
“Seeing how it works helps me appreciate the logistical nightmare this is for the school,” Gauthier said.
Sophomore and Equip volunteer Kathryn Luke agreed that the opportunity revealed to her the entire situation with a new outlook.
“The workers were so grateful for us,” Luke said. “They’ve been overextended and it was wonderful to be able to be a light to them and to the students we were packing for.”
Brooke Hillis, a freshman currently in quarantine, also expressed her gratitude. Even in situations like this, she said, it’s incredible that the school is still providing help amid uncertainty.
“As a naturally more independent person, it’s strange to have to rely on people to bring me something as necessary as food,” Hillis said. “I’m very thankful for everything they have given me.”
Although any quarantine situation is far from ideal, Hillis said that she truly did not have much to complain about.
“When I take a step back it seems silly for me to complain about the food situation,” Hillis said. “I have not once been in a position to not have food or be starving. They are trying their absolute best and that’s all I can ask of them.”
Not only has the administration been providing all the help they can, the additional help from student volunteers proves the “fighter” mentality across all of campus, Rothfuss said.
“Chargers have always been fighters, and now is no different,” Rothfuss said. “If you value this education, wear your mask, pray for the administration, and do what you can to sustain college life. Partnering with Equip to package meals is one way to do that.”