Seeking to address food insecurity on campus, Georgetown University recently held its second Meal Swipe Drive and received 1,092 meal swipe donations, up from 538 donations during the first drive in the spring, The Hoya reports. The drive was held by Georgetown’s InterHall Council and Swipe Out Hunger, the Georgetown chapter of the national initiative working to end student hunger. The Hoya Hub, Georgetown’s on-campus food pantry, also helped promote the drive.
Through the drive, students with a variety of meal plan types could donate meal swipes at all Hoya Hospitality locations. Food-insecure students will be able to apply for donated meal swipes, to be awarded in blocks of five, on a first-come, first-served basis, according to Isabelle Ortiz (B’20) president of the university’s Swipe Out Hunger chapter.
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Recipients will have the extra meal swipes loaded directly to their Georgetown identification card, a change from the first drive, which provided paper vouchers. Ortiz hopes the new setup will boost participation and eliminate any stigma students might feel using the donated meal-swipes.