In 2010, Swipe Out Hunger began with one student’s observation at UCLA: students had leftover meal swipes while their peers struggled to find their next meal. Recognizing that food insecurity was a major problem on campus, a few friends launched the first Swipe Drive. While Swipe Out Hunger’s reach and programmatic offerings continue to expand, one thing remains unchanged: students are the heart of the movement to end college hunger.
By tackling the immediate crisis of student hunger while simultaneously building a future where it no longer exists, Swipe Out Hunger has grown past our flagship Swipe Drive program to offer comprehensive solutions to our 900+ campus partners. We pursue our vision to end college hunger through three strategic pillars:
Championing Solutions: We uplift successful on-campus solutions that exemplify how to drive meaningful change within states. This extends to Swipe Drives, pantry support, grants, and our student engagement plan.
Building an Active Network: We connect students, university leadership, and elected officials to foster a transformative and collaborative ecosystem that activates our collective power.
Evolving the Narrative: We seek to replace outdated frames with perspectives grounded in the lived experiences of students and those who are directly affected.
The UCLA Swipe Out Hunger Chapter models exactly this evolution and the breadth of programs required to meet the needs of modern learners. Today, this chapter manages eight specialized committees overseeing diverse initiatives. Their work includes policy advocacy, swipe drives, awareness campaigns, cooking for veteran shelters, and a gleaning initiative where students collect leftover produce from local farmers’ markets to distribute to off-campus university graduate student housing.
This chapter has been led and maintained by students since 2010. Kelly Truong, a current UCLA student leader, emphasizes that students are uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between campus resources and actual student needs. “We try to tell our [chapter] members, we must utilize our position, which is the fact that we have connections to these stakeholders, which is dining, residential life, the Economic Crisis Response Team, really big admin figures… to communicate these needs, these student problems to them.”
“A lot of it comes down to empowering these students to make these decisions, empowering them to feel heard, to feel seen for their lived experiences, for their struggles, that this is not just a singular issue… that this is a systemic issue.”
– Kelly Truong
We are inspired by the growth of the last sixteen years, driven by students who possess the targeted insight and dynamic positionality to lead. Students know the issue of college hunger better than anyone and must remain central to every solution.
Swipe Out Hunger is committed to building a movement that puts students at the forefront. If you want to partner with us to support student engagement, click here to learn more or sign up for our student leader newsletter to stay up to date on student opportunities.
