Students trade bake sales for food carts
Members of UIC Greek organizations Delta Xi Phi, Alpha Sigma Tau, Sigma Lambda Beta, Delta Phi Epsilon, Phi Kappa Psi, Chi Sigma Omega and Chi Sigma Tau raised money for St. Jude’s Hospital with the help of food carts from Dining Services.
Student organizations can ditch the old-fashioned bake sales this fall.
Campus Programs is partnering with UIC Dining Services to offer food cart rental to student groups, allowing them to keep 60 percent of the profits for their fundraisers. Students can sell churros, hot dogs, nachos or pretzels from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays outside the UIC Bookstore or in the Lecture Center Plaza.
“We saw that there was a need for a more unique, broader experience for the student groups to be able to engage with students on campus, and to create a unique and interesting way to fundraise,” said Heather Payne, marketing director for UIC Dining Services.
Students in several Greek organizations debuted the fundraising option during Carts for Care, a friendly competition last April.
“It was a great experience,” said Carlos Espin, president of Delta Psi Alpha and a senior in psychology. “What made it so awesome was people from different Greek organizations working together.”
The real test was to see how easy it was to work with prepared food and how much money they could raise, said Vance Pierce, associate director of Campus Programs who oversees student organization resources.
After two days of vending hot dogs, churros and tacos, the students raised nearly $2,500 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
“We don’t just do social things,” said Lambda Theta Alpha member Amanda Padilla, a senior in criminology, law and justice. “We do things that matter, and we like to give back to the community.”
Another benefit of food carts?
“Student groups can get that real-life experience of running a business,” Payne said.
For more information, contact catering sales coordinator Emily Stuhrberg at 312-413-5623 or emily.stuhrberg@compass-usa.com
