Spoon University Northeastern’s Community Director Amy Chun and Photography Director Emily Sabia teamed up to spearhead a community-based scavenger hunt to bring our members and the Boston community together. The Spoon Scavenger Hunt was brought back from a similar event in 2021, but this time, with the active involvement of local businesses near campus. For the participants to “unlock” a free or discounted snack, they were challenged to solve a riddle that would reveal the corresponding “mystery location.” For example, see the below graphic hint we used for Dirty Water Dough:
We tasked the participants to send either a photo of the food or a selfie with it, depending on the location. After the Scavenger Hunt was over, we featured them on our Instagram story (with prior heads up, of course!). On top of local food businesses, we included places for tasks without the involvement of eating food, such as finding a favorite cookbook at Trident Bookseller’s Cafe, or taking a selfie at the T-shirt “bakery” Johnny’s Cupcakes, and finding a favorite pasta shape at Eataly Prudential Center.
But enough talk — eager to see the details? Here’s the run-down:
#1. Ben & Jerry’s
Thanks to the manager of the Newbury store KimVy, we were sponsored with free scoops for each participant! Behind their fun flavors is an organization enriched with deep history. With its involvement in social justice initiatives and collaborations with nonprofit organizations, Ben & Jerry’s has held a sustained presence in the American community by releasing limited edition flavors such as Change is Brewing and Justice Remix’d!
#2. Dirty Water Dough
A Boston-based local business with its history rooted in the Charles River’s “dirty water,” Dirty Water Dough makes its own dough with their home-brewed IPA beer. Adopting pride for the city we call home, our participants were eager to try a real slice of Boston pizza. With the perfect cheesy pull and easy-to-eat design, what’s better than pizza as an afternoon snack?
#3. Ten One Tea House
Of course, with all this food, we can’t skip out on drinks! Our participants were able to try two flavors from Boston/Providence local business Ten One Tea House: ten one milk green tea and the osmanthus alpine oolong. With the mission of serving healthy drinks with high-quality ingredients, ranging from organic dried flowers to fresh fruits— what more can you ask for when you want a refreshing cup of bubble tea?
#4. Raising Cane’s (Via the Claim App)
Thanks to the help of Caroline Jung and Jean Pan, two amazing representatives from Claim app, we were able to disperse $10 rewards for a select mystery location, for which we chose a college student favorite, Raising Cane’s. Claim is a social media platform, where, instead of ads, gives people rewards for trying new restaurants and businesses. A “drop” occurs weekly, where each person opens their reward and can either “claim” it, or trade it with an eligible friend on the app. Once one claims and redeems a reward, they receive cashback through Venmo. Knowing this, who would want to pass up a chance to get cashback? Read about them here, and make sure to download their app for cool drops like this one!
Participating Locations
Other mystery locations included Johnny’s Cupcakes, Eataly Prudential, and Trident Bookseller’s Cafe. Here, we gave our participants fun little tasks for more entries into our final prize raffle!
Overall, organizing this big of a scavenger hunt required a lot of planning, organization, and cooperative effort between our team and these local businesses. On behalf of the e-board, we want to thank everyone who participated, and also the businesses that chose to partake in this project.