About one in three college students experienced food insecurity before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study by the U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health. The study found that the pandemic has “made things much worse” for college students.
According to a Jan. 21 press release, the University implemented the “Swipe Out Hunger” program to help combat food insecurities on LSU’s campus. Swipe Out Hunger is a national program used at Cornell, Texas A&M, Florida State and other universities.
Between Jan. 30 and Feb. 5, LSU students with a meal plan could donate meal swipes to the program. As students entered the dining hall, an LSU Dining employee asked if they were interested in donating one swipe per meal period to the program.
Students interested in redeeming meals through the program can apply using the Swipe for Hunger form on TigerLink. After applications are reviewed and accepted, participants will be notified that meals have been uploaded to their Tiger Card. According to the form, participants must not already have a meal plan and meals through the program can only be redeemed at LSU dining halls. There is no financial obligation for students. Students can apply until Feb. 12.
Mass communication freshman Catelyn Greene said she heard about the program when she went to the 459 and was asked if she wanted to donate a meal swipe to Swipe Out Hunger.
“I think it’s awesome, I think it’s a great way to help others in the community,” Greene said.
She said she has donated meal swipes to the program.
“Everyone I’ve been with when I go eat with my friends, we all donate a swipe when the lady asks,” Greene said. “We think it’s awesome.”
According to the press release, Assistant Vice President of LSU Auxiliary Services Margot Carroll said SG brought the idea to Auxiliary Services. She said they “immediately” began to work with representatives from LSU Dining and LSU Student Affairs to create a pilot program to help meet the needs of students.
“Our hope is that we see a lot of interest in this pilot program and from it develop a strong, long-lasting opportunity for LSU students to both give and receive,” Carroll said.
SG Senate Student Auxiliary and Services Committee Chair Taylor Perrodin said the timeframe is shorter for the Swipe Out Hunger program because it is a pilot program at the University. She said Auxiliary Services wants to see if the program will be successful at LSU.
Perrodin said the goal of donated 2,000 meal swipes has been met.
Students can donate a meal swipe once each time they go to a dining hall to eat. The swipes will be evenly distributed among the students who filled out the application to receive swipes on TigerLink. She said they hope to have the Tiger Cards loaded by Feb. 14.
“When this fell into my lap as an initiative, I thought it was something that could really impact a lot of people,” Perrodin said.
She said she has received “a lot of good feedback” from students about the program.
SG Speaker of the Senate Marina Cole said there is a large percentage of students on campus who benefit and live off of food from the food pantry, but the food pantry is not sustainable for students.
“We really wanted this to be a jumpstart to helping food insecurity on campus,” Cole said. “The food pantry is amazing, but we wanted to take it a step further — go the extra mile with the swipes.”
She said food-insecure students cannot just rely on the food pantry and they need meal swipes.
“We waste so many swipes,” Cole said. “I remember freshman year, I wasted who knows how many that I wish I could have donated to someone else just because I didn’t feel like eating at the dining hall or I missed my time.”
Perrodin said other universities who use the Swipe Out Hunger program use it continuously throughout the year, and she said eventually LSU plans to “work up to that.”