Sorority Women and Food: A Love Story

Last evening was the annual ΠΒΦ (Pi Beta Phi) Bostonian Alumnae Club angel gift swap and dessert party. ΠΒΦ is a national women’s fraternity with 134 active collegiate chapters in North America and organized alumnae groups in 44 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, four Canadian provinces, London, Paris, and Tokyo. It is a tradition for the alumnae club in the Boston area to have this holiday party every year. The reason for the angel theme for the gift swap is the appearance of the angel as an unofficial ΠΒΦ symbol in the 1930s. The reason for the dessert theme is that sorority women love food.

I have no scientific evidence to prove the sorority-food link. Yet I know it to be true, as every sorority/fraternity woman does. Just as the best place to socialize at a rush event is the refreshment table, so the best alumnae events involve eating. For example, ΠΒΦ’s Bostonian alumnae have four events that are annual traditions, all involving food of some sort: a new members pot luck supper in September, the gift swap and dessert party in December, a Valentine’s Day hors d’oeuvres party in February, and a luncheon to celebrate Founder’s Day in April. ΠΒΦ even has a tradition called a Cookie Shine which involves cookies, candies, and other sweets laid out on a decorated sheet or blanket used just for the occasion.

There was no cookie shine last night, but there were plenty of sweets. Here is a photo (taken with my BlackBerry camera with the lousy flash, but you get the idea) of the dessert table at the end of the evening. We all went home with leftovers. Yum!