Citing health issues as its primary reason, Aramark Food and Dining Services announced last week that they will no longer allow Hillel to donate leftover Shabbat meals to nonprofit charity organizations, like Bristol Lodge in Waltham. Instead, all leftover food must be thrown out to prevent contamination."Food would be put in warmers and then put out," said Hillel Shabbat and Festival Meals Coordinator, Elnatan Reisner '05. "Then people (Shabbat dinner attendees) would bring up their leftovers and consolidate it and put it in the refrigerator until someone would take it to the soup kitchen."

BaRuCH (Brandeis Reform Chavurah) had been bringing the leftover Shabbat meals, sometimes adding up to as much as ten pans full of desserts, challah and meat, on Sunday mornings to Bristol Lodge.

"The idea that people are benefiting from what we're not eating is a good social action outlet," said BaRuCH co-coordinator, Megan Rock-Koepsel '05.

For over five years Hillel members were able to donate their leftover Shabbat dinners.

"In general we would pack up all the same things and box it up and put it in the refrigerator," Rock-Koepsel said. "We would take it on Sunday morning to Bristol Lodge, and it worked out fine until Simchas Torah."

Rock-Koepsel explained that on the holiday of Simchas Torah there was a food poisoning, and since then Aramark employees have been throwing out the Shabbat leftovers in the refrigerator.

"The food would keep getting thrown away and we put up signs to not throw it out, and we even put it in different languages," Rock-Koepsel said. "And this year we were told that we couldn't take the food because of something Aramark discovered in its policy."

Some students involved in Hillel are upset with Aramark's decision, especially since Good Samaritan laws exist to protect organizations like Aramark from being held liable if something should go wrong with their food. BaRuCH Services Coordinator, Rachel Present '06, interned at the Food Research and Action Center in Washington this past summer and is now researching current legislation in Congress that would not hold Aramark responsible if something should happen to their food.

"I think it's reasonable for a corporation not to be held liable because they could lose millions of dollars," Present said. "I blame (Aramark) for not calling Washington themselves to find out if they're exempt to improve goodwill."

Currently there is act in congress (HR 7), which originated in January of 1996, that might exempt Aramark from liability.

It states as its purpose "to encourage the donation of food and grocery products to nonprofit organizations for distribution to needy individuals by giving the Model Good Samaritan Food Donation Act the full force and effect of law."

Concerning liability of donating organizations, the act states: "A person or gleaner shall not be subject to civil or criminal liability arising from the nature, age, packaging, or condition of apparently wholesome food or an apparently fit grocery product that the person or gleaner donates in good faith to a nonprofit organization for ultimate distribution to needy individuals."

Present urges fellow students in the meantime to take action and get involved in reversing Aramark's policy of no longer donating Shabbat leftovers.

"Brandeis has this legacy of social justice and in a lot of ways we're kind of stagnant on this," Present said.

Students are also upset that so much food is being wasted.

"It was just a logical thing to do because we had extra food," Reisner said. "It seems a shame to throw it out."

Others hope that a better solution will arise so that all parties will be satisfied.

"I would love to find a way to make food available to people in a safe way and I hope it could be done, but I understand the concern," Rabbi Allan Lehmann said.

Aramark officials could not be reached for comments for this article.