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A student is swiping their meal card at a cashier station in the food court

Penn State students can help ‘Swipe Out Hunger’ during Earth Week

All Penn State residential campuses will host Swipe Out Hunger in conjunction with Earth Week 2023. During the week of April 16-22, students can donate $5, $10, or $15 to the Student Emergency Fund when they pay for their meal at any residential dining facility or through a Penn State Eats mobile order. 

The funds raised from this initiative provide emergency on-campus dining funds to students facing food insecurity.  

When students purchase a meal at any dining commons on their campus, they can tell the cashier how many dining dollars they would like to contribute, in increments of $5. Residential Dining takes care of the rest. It’s an easy way to use extra dining dollars at the end of the academic year while helping care for fellow Penn State students. 

“The power of this program is palatable — students helping students. Each dollar donated to the Student Emergency Fund helps students in need feel more secure, able to cover the costs of their basic, daily needs, and improve their ability to focus on learning and connecting. A Penn State experience should not just be about surviving, but thriving,” said Anna Barone, director of Student Care and Advocacy, which administers the emergency dining funds.  

Swipe Out Hunger, a national nonprofit committed to ending college student hunger, works with more than 435 colleges and universities nationwide to implement anti-hunger programs. The group that brought Swipe Out Hunger to Penn State includes task force subcommittee members from Housing and Food Services and Student Affairs and students who work with the Lion's Pantry, a food pantry at University Park.  

Students facing food insecurity and other basic needs challenges can find resources through the Student Affairs website.