Above: Student Food Rescue volunteer Ocean Bruinius (COM’27) collects donations from bakeries, grocers, and restaurants for those in need.
Student Food Rescue aims to make a tangible impact on hunger in Greater Boston
Becoming a Student Food Rescue volunteer made Ocean Bruinius (COM’27) feel truly a part of the BU community.
Student volunteers pick up food donations from bakeries, grocers, and restaurants and deliver them to those in need through 25 community partners such as food pantries, women’s transitional homes, shelters, and senior living communities. “BU has been such an incredible resource for us,” says Michael Zayas, project event coordinator for Dorchester Community Fridge. “Transportation has always been one of our greatest hurdles in getting food into the community.”
Bruinius arrived as a first-year from Florida wondering what to expect from the student experience and how she would fit in. One answer was Student Food Rescue.
“Seeing more of Boston and its surrounding communities feels like I’m making a positive impact on those communities [and] made me feel like I was a part of it,” Bruinius says.
In 2025, Bruinius was one of Student Food Rescue’s program managers, along with Eleanor Hoffpauir (CGS’23, Sargent’25, SPH’26). They coordinate with community partners and facilitate 15 or more trips by volunteers each week through the program, which is run out of BU’s Student Leadership & Impact Center.
“Seeing more of Boston and its surrounding communities feels like I’m making a positive impact on those communities [and] made me feel like I was a part of it.”
“In thinking about food insecurity, it’s really important to understand that you have to meet people where they are in that current moment, because their needs could look different next week or next month, and certainly next year,” Hoffpauir says.