A new campus organization aims to use Couch Restaurants and students’ meal plan donations to feed hungry people in the Norman community.

The OU Eat-in Group is a program created by Students for a Democratic Society that uses students’ extra meal exchanges to feed Norman’s needy.

OU students in the group sign up through the Facebook group called “OU Eat-ins” to donate exchanges and/or offer to transport people to Couch Restaurants.

“Basically what we want to do is get people in the Norman community who are low-income or homeless to the university to this great resource [of on-campus dining] we have,” said Elizabeth Rucker, one of the group’s leaders and international studies and interdisciplinary perspectives on the environment sophomore.

Many students joined the group because they felt some of their exchanges would be wasted otherwise.

“I decided to join the group because I feel like giving my extra meals to someone who may not get to have a warm meal otherwise is the least I can do,” said Molly McCool, pre-physical therapy sophomore.

The OU group is working with Norman organizations, including Food Not Bombs, Shelter and Food for Friends, Salvation Army and churches to help organize the dinners.

“We think of OU as being Norman, but there’s a whole city out there,” Rucker said.

Rucker said she wanted the hungry in Norman to be able to enjoy a nice meal in a non-judgmental environment. She said there are opportunities to overcome classism and form relationships within the Norman community.

“Any plan that seeks to help feed the needy and homeless in our community is a wonderful idea,” said Jamie Wright, Food and Shelter for Friends spokeswoman.

Matthew Bruenig, one of the group’s leaders and philosophy junior, said the future of the group depends on the amount of participation.

“If we get a lot of participation and if the resources don’t run out, it seems like something we could do [every Sunday],” Bruenig said.

The first dinner is scheduled for 6 p.m. Feb. 28 at Couch Restaurants.