We’ve always admired the ISU greek community’s commitment to philanthropy, and it’s been pretty delicious as of late. 

Eating around campus isn’t particularly affordable, at least not by our measure.

Dining Services is a no-go unless your parents love you enough to buy you a meal plan, and most restaurants in the area aren’t any better at keeping meals less than $10.

That’s why we love the greeks: they can decorate a float, throw an awesome party and they’re consistently feeding us for good causes.

Take the ladies of Alpha Chi Omega — at 10 p.m. Thursday they’re serving Qdoba quesadillas, chips and salsa for $5, with all proceeds going to ACCESS women’s shelter.

Or the ladies of Sigma Kappa — 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday — they’re selling caramel, Oreo and other bad-for-you apples on a stick, with all proceeds benefiting the Alzheimer’s Association.

On the men’s side, Sigma Phi Epsilon, SigEps, wins the trophy for most aptly-named philanthropy with their annual Sausagefest — 4 p.m. Sept. 30 — with proceeds going to the YouthAIDS health initiative.

But the fun doesn’t stop there, AGRs have Western Waffles — whatever those are — TKEs have a macaroni dinner, TriDelts have buffalo wild wings, DZs have hot dogs, G-Phis have crescent cakes, Chi-Os have a chili dinner, you get the idea.

If you visit www.greek.iastate.edu/calendar, there’s an All-Greek Google Calendar listing all chapter and community philanthropies, although some are a little vague and could use some more information.

Living off of Wendy’s dollar menu is possible, and delicious, but the money you pay for your spicy chicken nuggets won’t be going to charity.

Attending these fundraisers is a great way to eat until you burst; knowing the few measly dollars charged for your meal goes toward a great cause.

We’d also like to point out there are guys outside of the library selling slices of Papa John’s Pizza to raise money for flood relief in Pakistan. We’re happy to plug that cause.

For those not as up to date, Pakistan experienced flooding this summer that put as much as 20 percent of the country underwater. Millions of people are in the throes of a food shortage, and the total economic damage is slated to cost around $43 billion.

To put the enormity of the situation in perspective, 60 percent of Pakistanis live on less than $2 per day, and Pakistan is one of four countries where wild-type Polio is still prevalent.

Ames was underwater for less than two days, and we’re still cleaning up the damage more than a month later.

There’s a veritable smorgasbord of good food on and around campus the next few weeks that will cost you less than what you’re already paying, and help a lot of great causes in the process.

If you’ve got the cash to spare, don’t hesitate to donate more than what they’re asking, you’re definitely getting your money’s worth.