To the avid trick-or-treater, a shopping bag overflowing with canned minestrone soup and Hannaford cranberry sauce would be the last image that comes to mind as mouth-watering products of a triumphant Halloween.But to the more than 150 volunteers for Halloween for the Hungry-an annual program coordinated by the Hunger and Homelessness branch of the Waltham Group-the sea of brown bags filled with donated packaged goods in the Shapiro Atrium last Wednesday night marked the most successful Halloween for the Hungry event in several years.

Brandeis' participation in the event marked approximately its 20th year, as student volunteers paraded the streets of Waltham dressed as princesses, zombies and cartoon characters in a door-to-door quest for donations of packaged goods.

Volunteers collected over 4,000 cans, significantly more than last year's 3,000, according to Diane Hannan, director of Brandeis' Department of Community Service. Waltham Group donated the cans to Bristol Lodge, a soup kitchen in Waltham.

"Without our help, some of the people would go hungry," Myka Held '09, co-coordinator of Halloween for the Hungry, said.

Halloween for the Hungry became an official Waltham Group event in 1991, when a group of Brandeis students' charitable Halloween tradition became an annual campus-wide event, Hannan said. The students had collected packaged goods on Halloween for a number of years before Halloween for the Hungry became an official program.

The Waltham Group has been donating the food it collects to Bristol Lodge for the past 10 years; before that, donations went to the Red Cross Food Pantry, according to Hannan.

"We couldn't do the work that we're doing without all the volunteers and donations that we receive," said Dick Rogers, program director for Bristol Lodge. The Waltham Group, one of several organizations in Waltham that sends volunteers to Bristol Lodge, has become increasingly involved in the program as the number of people in Waltham who are in need has increased dramatically, Rogers said.

Elana Klinger-Rogers '09 emphasized that volunteer efforts from Halloween night alone will significantly impact the Waltham community. "[The donations] will make a huge difference at Bristol Lodge," she said.

Hannan said this year the Waltham Group was able to reach out to a larger portion of the Waltham community to let them know about Halloween for the Hungry. Many Waltham residents greeted volunteers with already prepared bags of packaged goods.

"As soon as we knocked on the door, they pretty much knew what we were there for," Seth Coburn '10 said.

Klinger-Rogers described the positive reactions nearly all Halloween for the Hungry volunteers received while trick-or-treating. "A lot of students coming back were actually surprised with how supportive Waltham residents were," she said.

Coburn said he and his friends collected even more packaged goods than they could carry.

"We had a huge garbage bag [filled with food], and we hid it in a bush and had to come back for it later with the BranVan" Coburn said enthusiastically.

For many volunteers, Halloween for the Hungry marked their first significant communication with people living in Waltham.

"It was interesting to go out into the Waltham community" Klinger-Rogers said.



"I'd never before interacted with Waltham residents."

Amanda Hecker '10 said she met "all different kinds of people" while collecting food on Barbara Street last Wednesday.

Hannan said Brandeis students' volunteer work makes for a very constructive relationship with the Waltham community, for it allows students like Hecker and Rogers to see their Waltham locality in a different light, and also for locals to see a community-oriented side of the University.

Hannah Siegel '10 said it was "amazingly refreshing" not only for her friends to meet the residents of Bruce Street, where they collected, but also for Waltham residents to see college students collecting food for the hungry.

"We were kind of brought together by the bond that we were both trick-or-treating for the hungry," Siegel said.

Last Wednesday, coordinators saw many familiar faces of students who look forward each year to a fun, social way of benefiting their local community.

"It's sort of our way of being able to trick or treat," Jenna Gondelman '09, a co-coordinator of Halloween for the Hungry, said.

Gondelman collected donations on a part of Westin Street with a few friends this Halloween. "I dressed up as a substitute teacher," she said, and insists that she will definitely participate in Halloween for the Hungry next year.

In recent years, Lasell College in Newton, Mass., as well as several other colleges, have instituted volunteer events similar to Halloween for the Hungry, Hannan said.

Halloween for the Hungry volunteers said last Wednesday's success only motivated them to become involved in more community service.

"It's inspiring," Siegel said, "but you're always able to do more.