This Giving Tuesday, Swipe Out Hunger partnered with Parcel Pending by Quadient to highlight the campus partners who are creating innovative solutions to provide accessible food to students year-round. Supporters were invited to give with their voice and vote for one school to win a refrigerated locker for their program and one year of maintenance cost.
At the December Swipe Session, Swipe Out Hunger’s monthly webinar series, Middle Georgia State University was announced as the winner of our Hunger Doesn’t Take Breaks campaign. As London Dejarnette, Programs Coordinator, shared, “This is a wonderful resource that really has dignity in mind, and this is a campus that is really focused on that.” The new refrigerated locker enables a new way to provide resources for students during campus closures, better equipping their pantry, The Knight’s Table, to address food insecurity on campus. Soon, students will be able to access fresh food by using the electronic pad on the locker without staff present, expanding programmatic reach and increasing service capacity.
This partnership with Quadient by Parcel Pending highlights the growing need for creative solutions to addressing food insecurity on college campuses, especially during campus closures. For college students that rely on on-campus food pantries and dining halls for food access, the holidays can cause sudden and abrupt food insecurity. Despite funding and capacity challenges, campus leaders are making strides to alleviate food insecurity through meal kits, community dinners, vouchers, and more. As a student shared, “It is hard to work to earn enough money to get food, so when the dining commons are closed, it causes anxiety. So, the gift card from my campus program lifted a lot of that anxiety.“
By combining resources and expertise, partners can create lasting impact, ensuring that students can focus on learning instead of worrying about their next meal. Swipe Out Hunger knows the movement to end college hunger is stronger with direct support from passionate stakeholders. Join us in turning plans into action and champion solutions that help campus programs to meet students’ needs. Learn more about partnership opportunities at swipehunger.org/support.
If you are a campus leader looking to support students over breaks, check out the Hunger Doesn’t Take Breaks Toolkit for practical strategies, from increasing limits to coordinating meal deliveries.
