Nick Calenti is frustrated because the excess meals from his mandatory ASU meal plan will become corporate revenue if he doesn't eat them by the end of the semester.
The University's food service provider, Sodexho, agreed to donate his surplus meals at the end of last semester, but the company is backing off, refusing to donate more money or meals when the current semester ends.
After the fall 2006 semester, Sodexho donated $2,500 to St. Vincent de Paul. It represented more than 1,000 excess meals from about 15 students, Calenti said.
"We have all these leftover meals that we're just expected to give to Sodexho or ASU?" Calenti said.
Last semester, the company agreed to donate the cost of food, $2.35, for each meal remaining on the accounts of ASU students who agreed to participate, according to students involved and company officials.
Because of a late start, Calenti was only able to gather support from about 15 kids, he said.
Thirteen students have pledged 377 meals so far this semester, said Wylie Timmerman, an undeclared freshman who is helping Calenti organize support.
"They felt a great deal of shame that a lot of the meals that they had purchased with their meal plans were going to be unused," Timmerman said. "It's just hard to watch that loss go by."
Calenti and Timmerman have threatened to use their excess meals to pass out free food on campus if Sodexho doesn't comply.
If the company won't donate the money to charity, it will still have to pay the full cost of the food, they say.
"I hope it doesn't come down to that because it would be a lot of work for us and I think it would cut into their overhead more," Calenti said.
Sodexho is no longer in a financial position to contribute money to charity, said Ben Hartley, general manager of ASU Campus Dining, which is run by Sodexho.
The company has a "substantial amount" of outstanding bills on meal plans, he said.
"I have to come to reconciliation with that before we can begin to donate meals," he said.
He would not disclose how much money is outstanding.
In March, ASU awarded a 10-year food service contract to Aramark, a Sodexho competitor. Food service will be transferred to the new company over the summer.
ASU's decision to sever its relationship with Sodexho had no bearing on the decision to withhold donations this semester, Hartley said.
Sodexho, not ASU, keeps excess revenue from unused meals, Hartley said.
But the money isn't pure profit. Sodexho accounts for unused meals when pricing the plans, he said.
"I hate to speculate on their motives," Calenti said. "I don't know any details on the contract negotiations. I assume last semester was just in good will, and I hope that was their motive. But your guess is as good as mine."
Reach the reporter at: jonathan.cooper@asu.edu.
