Swipe Out Hunger is a nonprofit organization in the United States working to build a movement of university students that advocate for improved food security on college campuses. The organization is empowering students to push for the Hunger Free Campus Act and implement creative solutions for food security on campuses.
“This movement is particularly looking at how we can increase the availability of public benefits resources, food resources, things like healthcare, housing, childcare, and transportation,” Robb Friedlander, Swipe Out Hunger’s advocacy director, tells Food Tank. The organization seeks to base “these resources on our college campuses, specifically, rather than out in the general community.”
The Hope Center’s Basic Needs Survey finds that 34 percent of college students face food insecurity. And although federal assistance programs are available, only full-time students who work at least 20 hours per week are eligible to receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
The work requirement “is a major hurdle, of which almost no other classification of group has to jump through.” Friedlander says. Students, in school most of the time, face mounting pressure. And the work requirement affects first-generation students more intensely, according to research from the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC).
To combat high levels of food insecurity, Swipe Out Hunger advocates for The Hunger Free Campus Act, a state policy that provides state funding for colleges and universities to implement basic needs programs for students. Colleges and universities can use state funds based on the specific needs of campuses and their students.
Many higher education institutions “are just not resourced enough to be able to serve the current level of need,” Friedlander says, “That’s why we know that sustainable state-level funding is imperative.” Through state-wide advocacy efforts, Swipe Out Hunger encourages students to join the fight. The organization’s advocacy toolkit provides students with a manual and advocacy training.
And Friedlander believes that college campuses are an excellent place to start a movement. “The college student is uniquely positioned to be able to speak from their own experiences, as a community leader.”
That’s why student leadership is at the core of Swipe Out Hunger’s work. Students help decide the organization’s direction through the Student Leadership and Advisory Council (SLAAC). Student leaders from 11 states and 15 campuses are representing the student’s voice in conversations about the organization’s strategy and plans.
But pushing for the Hunger-Free Campus Act, which has now passed in 10 states, is just beginning. Grace Cipollone, a current junior at UMass Amherst was “struck by how difficult it was to open the doors” for a food pantry that already exists, she tells Food Tank.
The food pantry on campus became non-operational when the university closed many buildings during the height of COVID-19, says Cipollone. Now, students are advocating for its reopening. Cipollone created a petition that has nearly 600 signatures, and students like Cipollone are in conversation with the administration to implement ideas for food security in the university’s 10-year plan, she tells Food Tank.
The Swipe Out Hunger team helped connect students with community organizations like the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts to help source food for students. The organization is “encouraging me to look at things from new perspectives, try new tactics, which is a really important part of organizing,” Cipollone says.
UMass students are also talking with Dining Services to allocate a space for students to access food recovered from the dining halls. And Cipollone tells Food Tank that students on campus will soon operate food supply shelves in the Student Union and are continuously advocating for the administration to take more of a role in recognizing and eradicating food insecurity on campus.
As advocacy efforts continue, Cipollone’s peers are looking holistically to help students access food, “no matter their need,” she tells Food Tank. “You have to look at the whole person, you can’t just consider one factor, like income, because there are a lot of students experiencing food insecurity here.”
But college food security is “winnable,” Friedlander maintains. “Students are ready to tackle it because their own neighbors…are in trouble.”
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Photo courtesy of Erika Fletcher, Unsplash
