In a recent study of college students, 48% of students reported experiencing food insecurity in the previous month. Contrary to what you might think, being enrolled in a campus meal plan does not eliminate the threat of food insecurity. Among respondents from four-year colleges, 43% of meal plan enrollees still experienced food insecurity. 

Rachel Sumekh, founder and CEO of Swipe Out Hunger, is here to change that. Founded by a group of friends at UCLA in 2010, Swipe Out Hunger has become a leading nonprofit addressing hunger among college students. Their team is dedicated to growing university meal sharing programs. Their national movement spans over fifty colleges and has served 1.5 million nutritious meals. Find out how this student-led organization turned nonprofit is fighting hunger one meal at a time, by increasing students’ access to meals on campus. 

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* Swipe Out Hunger is a leading force in addressing hunger amongst college students. Their innovative approach allows university students to donate the unused funds from their meal plans to food insecure peers. What began in 2010 with a few friends as a UCLA project, has since grown to serve over 1.5 million meals at over 50 universities. Rachel’s work has also been recognized by the Obama White House, The New York Times and landed her on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. 

* AB 453: Introduced by Assemblymember Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara), and enacted by Governor Edmund G. Brown and the California State Legislature, the Hunger-Free Campus Bill will provide the University of California, the California State University, and California Community College Systems each a one-time $2.5 million award to develop Swipe Out Hunger programs, create campus food pantries, and designate employees to assist students with the CalFresh (food stamps) enrollment process.



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