College student doing nothing wrong by going for free food

A note from a college student we're calling Toby arrived recently. It came shortly after the spring semester began and Toby mentioned that he always enjoys this time of the academic year because a lot of organizations on campus have events to recruit new members.

Toby indicates he's not much of a joiner, but he enjoys socializing at the events. Mostly, however, he likes attending the events that serve the best food. Pizza seems to be a staple, but some organizations offer sandwiches and even an occasional buffet spread of hot food. Apparently on Toby's campus, the buffalo chicken wraps are to die for.

But in spite of consuming as much free food at these events as he cares to, Toby writes that he has no intention of joining any of the organizations.

When he was trying to convince a classmate to go to one of the events with him, the classmate responded that he didn't have any interest in the organization. "That's OK," Toby writes that he told him. "I don't either. I go for the free food."

Toby's friend questioned whether Toby was right to consume the food when he knew he wasn't interested in the organizations.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with it," Toby writes. "Free food is offered and I like free food." He wants to know if his friend is right and he is wrong.

College campuses produce a lot of food. A lot of it goes wasted. Some estimates put the waste in the millions of pounds a year. Organizations like the Food Recovery Network have made strides to try to help campuses cut down on such waste and colleges have made their own efforts.

Students have even done their part as well, even if informally. At the college where I teach, I know of at least two WhatsApp groups that have been set up to notify students when food is leftover on campus from an event. There's also a listserv that serves the same purpose.

It's pretty clear that the students swooping in to partake of leftovers weren't part of the group for whom the food was originally intended. But their consumption of leftover food does serve the purpose of cutting down on waste and providing fuel for students, often on a budget, to study.

Toby's case is a bit different because he goes to the events where he eats the food. The organization members might assume he is a prospect for their group. Toby writes that he never tells any of the organizations that he plans to join as a way to get food.

"They invite everyone on campus who's interested," he writes. "I'm interested, but mostly for the food."

Toby is doing the right thing by not lying about his intentions to join any organization he has no plans to join. If his consumption has the added benefit of cutting down on any leftover food waste, all the better. His practice may not serve the intentions organizations have to recruit new members, but who knows? He might come across a group he actually wants to join.

And besides the buffalo chicken wraps are to die for. 

Jeffrey L. Seglin, author of  The Right Thing: Conscience, Profit and Personal Responsibility in Today's Business and The Good, the Bad, and Your Business: Choosing Right When Ethical Dilemmas Pull You Apart, is a senior lecturer in public policy and director of the communications program at Harvard's Kennedy School. 

Follow him on Twitter: @jseglin 

Do you have ethical questions that you need answered? Send them to rightthing@comcast.net. 

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