Lehigh pauses Hungry Hawks partnership

On Sept. 8, Hungry Hawks users were notified that Lehigh decided to “walk away” from its verbal agreement with the organization. 

Hungry Hawks is an app where club organizers can post the times and locations of leftover food from events so Lehigh students can redistribute it and reduce food waste. According to a letter sent to Hungry Hawks users, the university said the decision was due to budget cuts and “the fact that (the) company is still in the early stages of its development.”

Dave Jha, ‘22, and Connor Green, ‘22, created the student-led program in early 2020. Since its founding, Hungry Hawks has saved more than 10,000 meals from going to waste. 

After graduating, Jha said he received significant interest from other colleges wanting to implement the program on their campuses in fall of 2024.

Lehigh’s Office of the General Counsel recommended Jha move Hungry Hawks off of Lehigh’s campus and approach the university as an independent vendor through his company Frood, which also connects college students to leftover food across campuses. 

The university, which had been covering Hungry Hawks’ operational costs for the past three years, was informed of the new contract. 

Jha said Frood and Lehigh reached a verbal agreement in June, where Lehigh would cover $1 per student, per year for Frood to continue operating on Lehigh’s campus. 

He said Frood received an email in August that Lehigh would place negotiations on hold because of budget cuts and Frood still being in its early stages.

However, David Joseph, the executive director of auxiliary services, said Lehigh didn’t defund Hungry Hawks, but decided to not do business with Frood “for now.”

“At this stage, (we) just didn’t feel it was worth the money or the time to get involved, especially since Frood is still in the early stages of development,” Joseph said. 

Jha said he understands the university is in a difficult position with the federal funding cuts, but that the money saved through reducing food waste is worth more than his company’s asking price.  

“I think the cost of the amount of money that has been saved as a result of that food waste is way beyond our asking price,” Jha said. 

Currently, the Hungry Hawks app is still running, but Joseph said until it is taken down by Library and Technology Services the university will continue initiatives to reduce food waste through the Food Recovery Network. 

The Lehigh chapter of the Food Recovery Network is a student-led organization that collects surplus food and redistributes it to shelters in Bethlehem. 

Last year, the Food Recovery Network encouraged students to use leftover meal swipes on nonperishables that could then be donated. This year, however, new meal plans no longer  allow students to use swipes for retail items, making donation efforts more difficult.  

Miles Jaffee, ‘27, a member of the Food Recovery Network, said the new meal plan is similar to a casino system, where you can’t use your own money. 

“You have to use Lehigh’s Monopoly money, and the only way to buy into it is in a way that will now leave you at the end of the semester with a lot of wasted swipes,” Jaffee said.

Asher Mendelson, ‘27, the president of the Lehigh chapter, said the club recognizes that Lehigh and its dining partner, Sodexo, have no legal obligations to allow swipes to be used for donations, even if he wishes they would. 

The recovery network brings unserved food from Rathbone Dining Hall to Victory House, a homeless shelter for veterans located north of campus. Currently, they’re running a camp gear drive with the Outing Club that will be donated to the shelter. 

Mendelson said the Food Recovery Network is trying to partner with Greek organizations to cook fresh food for Victory House and other emergency shelters. 

“We’re all going to the same place eventually, and I see it as my life’s goal to make as much of an impact on food security as I can while I’m here,” Mendelson said.

Jaffee said the Food Recovery Network knew about Hungry Hawks’ closure during the summer and had been planning to start a similar project to reduce food waste.

Without financial support, Hungry Hawks is asking for $1 donations to continue operating. 

Jha said donations from students and staff are exceeding his expectations and inspiring him to continue his food waste initiatives beyond Lehigh. 

“The support we’ve gotten from the community has been very overwhelming,” Jha said. “I was quite surprised and excited that the value is felt by so many at Lehigh.”