Every semester, students are left with unused meal plan money, but now, an ASU organization is asking students to use their leftover Maroon and Gold Dollars wisely by purchasing and donating food to St. Mary’s Food Bank in Phoenix.

With the economic downturn causing a rise in demand for food banks, ASU for Food is asking students to purchase food to donate using their M&G Dollars.

The donations can be dropped off at Devil’s Union Market in the Memorial Union, said Mary Beth Hutchinson, the president of the organization.

“When you go to the market to buy a pack of gum, and you know that your M&G is going to disappear anyway, grab a can of soup and throw it in the box for us,” said Hutchinson, a history and religious studies sophomore, said.

All students living on campus are required to purchase a dining plan each semester. Any unused M&G Dollars expire and do not carry over to the next school year. This is why ASU for Food wants to avoid having those meals’ going to waste, Hutchinson said.

Jerry Brown, a community relations specialist at St. Mary’s Food Bank in Phoenix, said the demand for food is up 80 percent from last year, and even though donations have also been on the rise, it is not enough to meet the demand.

In March alone, the food bank distributed 7 million pounds of food, Brown said.

“While people have been helping us out and we have more donations than we had in the past, it’s not quite keeping up with the sky-rocket demand for food,” Brown said.

He said the food bank can use donations now, “and any help that ASU can give us to us is a great helping hand.”

Angelica Hernandez, a mechanical engineering sophomore, said she plans to donate some of her leftover M&G.

“At the end of the year, we do have money left over, and if that money is already going to go to waste, then might as well use it wisely,” Hernandez said. “I’m sure a lot of people will be willing to use their M&G to buy cans and feed people who don’t have anything to eat right now.”

In the last few months, food banks across Arizona have been losing donations and seeing more people in need of those donations, Hutchinson said.

As a way to help create monetary donations for the St. Mary’s Food Bank, the organization, which was created in the fall, held a cookout on Tuesday.

They provided students with a hot dog, chips and soda for a $3 donation. The group was able to collect about $300.

“We didn’t just want to be asking people to donate money — we wanted to give them something for what they could give us,” Hutchinson said.

Michael Casolary, a graduate student studying computer science, said he liked the idea of getting a lunch in exchange for a donation.

“I’ve seen other clubs asking for donations, but when people see that there’s something in it there for them, they are more motivated to donate,” he said. “Everyone likes lunch, and if they can get something for it, then it’s worth making a donation.”

Reach the reporter at griselda.nevarez@asu.edu.