Executive MBAs' Creativity Benefits Connecticut Food Bank

Students in Yale SOM’s MBA for Executives Leadership in Healthcare program’s Class of 2010 donated more than 430 lbs. of food to the Connecticut Food Bank

The donation would be impressive under any circumstances, but is especially so given the significant logistical problem the class had to overcome: getting their donations to campus.

Students in the MBA for Executives program attend classes on the SOM campus on alternating weekends, hold full-time jobs, and some travel from as far away as California and Mississippi. Even with the best intentions, there are only so many nonperishable food items they could pack in their suitcases and lug across the country.

With their competitive spirit and their business acumen, the Class of 2010 figured out a way to beat their Class of 2009 counterparts in their friendly competition to collect the most food. Since the travel piece was a challenge for many, one student came up with a great idea: the class could pool its money, order the food via Peapod, the online grocery shopping and delivery service, and have it delivered to the SOM campus.

On Saturday, November 15, when classes were just about over, the nonperishable food items, which included staples such as pasta, soup, and rice, were delivered to campus. MBA for Executives students and staff loaded the donations from both classes into the car of MBA-E executive director Ellen Skinner ’87 who shuttled them to the Connecticut Food Bank warehouse in East Haven the following Monday morning where the scale-tipping tally was revealed. The endeavor was a demonstration of the creative problem solving in the benefit of society that is a hallmark of SOM.

SOM’s MBA students also collected food and money donations as part of the 2008 MBA Food Fight, an annual week-long competition among business schools across the U.S to aid hunger relief organizations. The program’s three cohorts — Green, Blue, and Silver — competed against each other to bring in the most donations. The Green cohort was the winner, collecting 47.4 lbs. of food and $1,875 in monetary donations. In total, the MBA students donated approximately 125 lbs of food and $3,922, also benefiting the Connecticut Food Bank, which supplies more than 650 soup kitchens, shelters, food pantries, and daycare programs in Connecticut.

By Connecticut Food Bank estimates, the combined MBA-E and MBA donations will provide more than 1,000 meals this holiday season.