FeelGood sells grilled cheese to fight hunger

Sophomore Michelle Kerbel has not always been a grilled cheese expert. When she met with her… Sophomore Michelle Kerbel has not always been a grilled cheese expert. When she met with her upperclassmen friends at Nordy’s Place on Thursdays last year, she would bring her own lunch.

Now she knows better.

“The first week I was lame, but then I learned, and I’ve had grilled cheese every week on campus since,” Kerbel said. “I’m not impressed by a basic grilled cheese sandwich. Plain cheese just doesn’t impress me anymore.”

On Thursdays after the 11 a.m. deli opening, Kerbel is with the lunchtime rush, discussing orders at the back of the room. The FeelGood club members behind the table write down Kerbel’s usual order — the Grilled Cheese of Learning, no tomato, with tomato sauce and pesto. The order is passed to her as the white-gloved hands of the deli workers weave their way across the large table of ingredients.

“It’s a good event because it’s filled with people we’ve met and become friends with,” Kerbel said. “I can count on seeing the same faces at [FeelGood] each week.”

FeelGood partners with The Hunger Project, a global non-profit organization, which operates its program within 11 countries. The money raised through FeelGood helps fund skills training programs that focus on literacy, numeracy, nutrition and local laws, according to The Hunger Project’s official site.

The FeelGood members begin their setup in Nordy’s at 10 a.m., preparing for the four-hour lunch period. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., workers make around 140 sandwiches, which generates up to $500 per week.

FeelGood President Aidan Smith said that the group suggests a $3 donation, but have been known to give away free sandwiches and accept larger donations.  He said the club once collected $20 for a single sandwich.

“It was a crazy donation, but it does happen because people are willing to give to a good cause and are often generous,” the junior said. “One hundred percent of the proceeds go to The Hunger Project.”

The group of about 30 members also sells organic coffee and FeelGood T-shirts. They accept cash, and credit and debit cards.

Smith said that FeelGood reinforces the idea of sustainability.

“We see the need for hunger as a want for self-reliance. We aim to attack all of the issues that surround hunger because it’s a cycle,” Smith said.

Smith said that the group receives part of its budget from the Student Government Board and gathers donations through other means as well. He said that each level of funding, whether allocated or donated, is viewed as a loan, and the group works to stress that each dollar given to fund the Thursday event produces around three dollars that are donated directly to The Hunger Project.

Sophomore Michael Nites stood before a copious list of ingredients and ordered for the first time last Thursday. While he waited, he interacted with the people also waiting for their foil-wrapped orders from the six portable grills behind the deli.

“This is my first time at FeelGood. It’s actually pretty sad because I’ve stolen pieces from other people’s sandwiches but had never had one myself, so I figured that I should try it out,” Nites said.

The ingredients are all sustainable and create seven different sandwiches: Grilled Cheesus, Grilled Cheese of Learning, Panther Pizza, Feel Bueno, Grilled Granny Smith, Cheeseless Cheese and Make Your Own. Customers are encouraged to bring any desired items that are not provided, such as meat.

“You can bring your own meat, but we do not offer it because it’s not sustainable,” Smith said. “All of our products can be produced through sustainable forms without the use of massive animal farms.”

Senior Zachary Demby said that he could understand why people line up for a grilled cheese.

“It’s really a triple threat — and a triple win — situation,” Demby said. “First of all, there is grilled cheese. It doesn’t get much better than that. Second, it only costs three dollars. Third of all, but I suppose it is also first of all, you are helping the hungry in need. What could be better?”

FeelGood member Nathan Poloni moved from behind the deli to order and donate.

“The Feel Bueno is my favorite to make because it is also my favorite to eat,” the junior said. “I associate it with contentment and the feeling of being full.”

Smiling, he admitted that he didn’t like grilled cheese before becoming involved with the group.

“I hadn’t had good grilled cheese, but only the kind smacked together between two soggy pieces of Wonder Bread,” Poloni said. “Then I had my first FeelGood, and as the cliché goes, it was all history from there.”