Activism

Filling Empty Bellies is what Dana Frasz does best

by Meredith Ogilvie

Tuesday November 29, 2005

This season, altruism just may be the new black. Senior Dana Frasz has been awarded the first youth award from the Westchester Coalition for the Hungry and Homeless. Frasz was chosen for the award for the work she has done with the student group Empty Bellies. The group picks up unused food from Bates and local restaurants and gives it to Part of the Solution, a food shelter in the Bronx. The Phoenix spoke with Frasz about Empty Bellies–from its inception to the founder’s hopes for it in the future.

PHOENIX: When did you get the idea for Empty Bellies?
DANA FRASZ: It began when I was a college freshman in Rochester, New York. Rochester is a school completely different from Sarah Lawrence. It’s huge and the dining hall had to accommodate all the students. But after every meal, I would see the food staff literally throwing away large trays still full with food from that day. Having just returned from a year abroad in which I traveled around in India, Thailand and Nepal and seeing where [these] culture[s] focused their attention, I was just appalled by the sheer wastefulness of the college. That’s when I first thought of asking for the leftovers so I could put the food to good use. Some of my friends and I put the food in Tupperware and took it down into the subways in Rochester and handed it out.

PHOENIX: That sounds incredible. How soon after arriving at Sarah Lawrence did you start the group?
FRASZ: I started it pretty soon [in] my first semester when I transferred in as a sophomore.

PHOENIX: Was there any resistance from the school?
FRASZ: There was some, Bates and Flik were skeptical in the beginning because they did not want to deal with repercussions if anyone got sick because they are a private company and they would get in big trouble if there was a liability concern. However, Bill Clinton passed the Good Samaritan Act in 1998, which basically stated that no one would be held legally accountable when they donated to charities or groups with altruistic intentions. So, when Flik signed on, we were really able to get the project up and running.

PHOENIX: What is the process you go through to collect the food and get it to the shelter?
FRASZ: Our group is about 30-students strong and we have a master list of different pick up times. Students sign up whenever they are available (we do our best with scheduling, so it never seems like a chore) and they pick up the food after every meal and certain students with cars drive them to the shelter. It was different in the beginning because there were only a handful of students and we were just using my car. But then we got bigger and needed to expand. So the school gave us the community vans to use for the drop-offs. Unfortunately, we were transporting food so the vans got a little messy and the school took them away from us. Sarah Lawrence has always been really supportive of us and what we are trying to achieve. But it would be nice if we could have the vans back.

PHOENIX: What is your vision for Empty Bellies in the future?
FRASZ: I learned a lot during my time with the group and I would really like to see it consistently grow and perhaps expand to other schools. Feeding hungry people with food that would otherwise go to waste is such a good cause to stand behind, I do not think we will have much trouble with staying power. This is my third year heading the group and I have only seen us grow consistently in numbers.

PHOENIX: Tell me more about the award you just received.
FRASZ: The award will be presented next spring at a fancy reception. We are going to try to reserve an entire table to show solidarity and support for the group that is giving me the award and the cause behind it. Even though I am the one receiving the award, it really is for all of us and especially for people that have been steadily committed from the very beginning.