GoMeals! helping Greeks to go green

Until a few months ago, Dumpsters outside UNC’s sorority and fraternity houses were filled every weeknight with wasted food from that day’s meals.

Of the 55 Greek chapters at UNC, more than 20 have houses and serve their members food. Since it’s hard to predict how many people will show up for these meals, waste is inevitable.

Two members of the Greek community, Matt Meyers and Libby Greenberg, are trying to change this.

Meyers and Greenberg recently launched a project called GoMeals!, which coordinates volunteers (both Greek and non-Greek) to collect leftovers from participating houses Monday through Thursday nights. The volunteers then deliver the food to the Inter-Faith Council’s Community House, a homeless shelter on Rosemary Street.

It’s hard to believe an idea like this, which is a win-win for all parties, was only developed recently. It’s environmentally friendly, it benefits a deserving group and it supports one of the pillars of Greek life: philanthropy.

Despite its obvious value, the initiative is still encountering challenges. The most perplexing obstacle is the reluctance of some chapters to participate. With such clear benefits and such minor drawbacks, every house should opt in to GoMeals!

With a few exceptions, sorority and fraternity chefs prepare meals ahead of time and have no way of knowing exactly how many people will show up to eat. With this system, waste is unavoidable, but GoMeals! will help put some of it to better use.

There’s no reason not to participate in the program, and doing so confirms the universal Greek pledge to provide service to the larger community.

UNC Greeks already take great pride in the thousands of dollars and countless hours they donate to their respective philanthropies each year. Donating to GoMeals! is a completely painless way to contribute even more.

Thus far, the only hiccups have arisen from forgetfulness. For example, GoMeals! also collects “late plates,” the boxed meals prepared for members who can’t make it to mealtime, but some of these are still being discarded before pickup.

Once more members of the Greek community know about the program, this should cease to be a problem.

In fact, the whole project could use more publicity — an area in which the Greek community has excelled for many years. If their 5Ks and cookout nights are any indication, sororities and fraternities are PR experts.

And if the Greek houses already participating publicly declare their commitment to GoMeals! — and to sustainability in general — the houses that don’t yet contribute will feel compelled to do so.

This should be a Greek-wide movement; after all, UNC is one of the only universities in the nation with a Greek Sustainability Council. Our commitment from Greek leaders to make their events environmentally-friendly is commendable.

Environmental initiatives should be integrated into every part of student life, including off-campus Greek houses that many UNC students call home.