When the opportunity to become "Food Chair" for my sorority was presented, I hopped on the train as quick as I could. I was fully ready to put my foodie skills in action and make life-altering changes to the food in the Pi Beta Phi house. I was determined to have the perfect balance between healthy meals and the classic comfort meals.

Little did I know how much effort I would have to put in and the funny stories that would come out of trying to please 60 girls under one roof.  

beer, bacon, cake
Lauren Lamothe

On day one in my position, I thought it would be a great idea to make a survey for what the girls preferred for meals and snacks. I figured that generally the answers would all be the same and pretty simple, but I was wrong.

For cereal preferences, I got about 20 different kinds: Frosted Flakes, Honey Bunches of Oats, Homemade Granola, Coco Puffs, Reese's Puffs, Fruit Loops—the list could drag on for years. As for snack choices, everyone was pretty much on the same page: pretzels, popcorn, and chips. 

beer, tea, coffee
Lauren Lamothe

My next task was to become best friends with the chef. I came into the kitchen fully prepared with a word document of snacks the girls wanted in the common kitchen, meals they preferred, and any dietary restrictions.  

In addition to that, I added some ideas of my own to spice it up. No one likes a boring salad bar, everyone craves a special pre-made salad. Everyone also loves a classic lunch of grilled cheese and tomato soup. Yes, girls do like to leave the dining room with food babies, but once and a while, veggies are needed, too.

chili, sauce, pork, beef, chicken, meat
Lauren Lamothe

Chef Audreen is an angel in disguise and was on board with everything I suggested. I was excited for the delicious meals she was about to prepare for us and even more excited to see what all the girls would think about the changes we were about to make.

The following week, we were dining like queens. We had salmon and Brussels sprouts for dinner and doughnut muffins for dessert. The girls were ecstatic and I was grinning from ear to ear. I, along with all 60 girls, couldn't stop gushing to Chef Audreen about what a phenomenal job she was doing.

apple, pumpkin, cinnamon
Lauren Lamothe

But, with all the praise also comes some conflict. The one snack choice that Chef Audreen and I confirmed would be a necessity in the kitchen was the Nutella. Let me start this out by saying we ordered a JUMBO- sized Nutella for the common kitchen space. When I say jumbo, I mean Costco-sized x10000. I figured this would last us a week, minimum.

It turns out, the Nutella as gone in just three days. So, the following week, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

chocolate, coffee, milk
Lena Grossman

I thought that if I hid the Nutella from Tuesday to Thursday, that would leave enough for the weekend which is the most important time to snack on it. After about an hour, the GroupMe for all the girls living in the house blew up with: "WHERE THE F*** IS THE NUTELLA?" and "WHO HID THE NUTELLA?" along with various gifs that fully expressed their anger.

I was not about to blow my cover, so I just let the anger brew for three more days then replied with: "You guys are savages so I hid it, you're welcome." Lesson learned, I hope?

Along with the Nutella fiasco comes all the weird snack combinations and late-night eats. Come 12 am, you can find girls downstairs munching on pretzels with cream cheese, frozen bananas with peanut butter, strawberries with brown sugar, pizza loaded with toppings, Insomnia cookies, bagels with Nutella and PB, plus any leftovers from the past week.

It's safe to say that the kitchen, or what we call "the breakfast room," is the center of all the action in the house. 

corn
Gabby Phi

Even though as food chair I get a lot of complaints or suggestions, I honestly wouldn't have it any other way. Its nearly impossible to please all 60 girls, but being a perfectionist, I most definitely will try my hardest to accomplish that by the end of the school year.

We often forget or don't even realize how much work goes into keeping up with everything in a sorority house. There are so many fine details, including the food that we just assume will always be there. But, as food chair, it is my job to keep everyone from getting hangry and to try to make sure everyone has equal access to the foods that they love and crave.

As cliche as it is, the motto "do it for my sistas" certainly applies here. I love food, but I love them even more.