Students are leading the charge in Michigan, showing the power of student voices in the fight to end college hunger. In 2024, their advocacy helped launch a $500,000 Hunger Free Campus pilot program supporting food access initiatives in four colleges across the state. Now, thanks to students’ continued efforts, the 2025 Michigan State Budget includes another $500,000—this time for a statewide grant program open to all higher education institutions. It all started with students at Michigan State University, eager to see change and determined to make it happen.
One of those students is Parker Dennings. In the fall of 2023, during his junior year, Parker joined the newly formed Spartan Food Security Council after a classmate in his social policy course excitedly shared the council’s advocacy for state-level legislation. Though Parker had not personally experienced food insecurity, he was drawn in by the connection between what he was learning in class and the advocacy happening on campus. “What inspired me to advocate was seeing other students’ passion about the issue,” he shared, “and stuck with it through the rest of my time in college.”
From the start, Parker followed the example of the students who first inspired him, spreading awareness whenever possible on his campus and connecting with students across the state.
In the summer of 2024, Parker and his classmates traveled to Lansing to attend a committee hearing for the next year’s budget, hoping to see Hunger Free Campus included. “There was this big printout of the whole budget. We each picked one up, and we were flipping through, and we’re like, ‘Yep, it’s right there!” Seeing it in words on these official documents, I think, is a big moment; it’s not just you talking to people anymore, but it’s right there. It’s in the language, and that makes it feel official.” The Michigan Legislature allocated $500,000 in funding for a Hunger Free Campus pilot program. This one-year initiative awarded $125,000 each to four public colleges to support food security efforts including food pantries, SNAP outreach, and hunger task forces. “They cared enough, and we convinced them to care enough,” Parker said.
After graduating Michigan State University this spring, Parker now works as a legislative aid in the Michigan House of Representatives. While he was not directly involved in the recent $500,000 renewal, he sees it as a sign of the movement’s endurance. “One of my proudest moments was being able to graduate and know that the work wasn’t gonna stop when I graduated … a successful passing of the torch is always a proud moment.”
Parker’s experience highlights just how committed students are to this work. Their involvement is essential—students are the ones who start, sustain, and pass along the advocacy that keeps efforts like Hunger Free Campus moving forward. That is why Swipe Out Hunger is committed to centering students: lasting change depends on the leadership and momentum that only students can bring to this movement.
If you are a student ready to take action, subscribe to our Advocacy in Action Newsletter to learn about advocacy opportunities, campus campaigns, and ways to use your voice to drive change. For those who want to support student-led efforts, partner with Swipe Out Hunger to help fund programs and initiatives that amplify student leadership.
