STUDENT HUNGER IS REAL.

WE CAN HELP END IT.

AND WE ARE.

2017 - 2018
IMPACT REPORT
 October 2018

SOMETHING “If you turn on google alerts for college student hunger, you’ll receive several articles a.day.”

TO BE .I shared these words as part of my testimony before lawmakers earlier this year. Since our
.founding in 2010, coverage of and attention around the food security of college students — 

HOPEFUL . a student’s simple ability to access food–– has grown steadily, until last year when it skyrocketed.

The work of Swipe Out Hunger evolves significantly year to year. After eight years of partnering

ABOUT .with universities to end student hunger–– we release our first ever public impact report. The
.work we did this year is the culmination of almost a decade of testing, talking and polishing best
. practices. We are incredibly proud of our work in the 2017-18 school year, a year in which we
. added 20 campus partners and served 100,000 nutritious meals. This report shares how
. access to food can change a student’s life.

. . . . .We’ve learned from those we serve that it takes more than kale salads to create campuses
. . . . . .that live up to the values listed on student orientation letters.

Rachel Sumekh
Co-Founder & Executive Director
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WHAT IS
SWIPE
OUT HUNGER BEYOND MEAL SWIPES
OUR PREMIERE PROGRAM
Authored successful $7.5+ million in legislation to
support CA campuses with anti-hunger efforts
OUR ROOTS
Offer online resource + community hub
Founded by a group of friends at UCLA in 2010,
Swipe Out Hunger has become a leading nonprofit Design reports that advise on gaps and
addressing hunger among college students. opportunities for partners to address
Fight stigma associated with college
Our team is dedicated to growing university meal student hunger through campaigns
sharing programs. Our national movement spans over
50 colleges and has served 1.5 million nutritious meals. Conduct program evaluation
for our university partners
Grow SNAP outreach
3 Meal Swipes Campus Food Pantry
 CRITICAL CONTEXT
OUR THEORY OF CHANGE
After an effective campus
meal share program is adopted…
Students will experience improved health
and nutrition, less stigma and isolation,
and increased academic wellbeing
The campus will achieve higher retention and graduation
rates and become more inclusive as a whole
The movement to support college students’
basic needs will gain greater momentum
The Higher Ed space will move closer
towards becoming a true platform
for equity and equality
What We Serve
Our programs provide students between 3 and
90 swipes for warm, nourishing dining hall
meals over an academic term.
The variation reflects availability of
resources against the need
on a campus.
The Affect of Stigma
Approximately 15% of campuses end the term with unredeemed meal
passes. From more positive, tailored marketing materials to changing
the campus culture by educating and training staff on how to support
food insecure students, we can push back on stigma and encourage
students to effectively utilize supportive services.
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HOW IT UC Merced West Virginia University
DINING MANAGED IN-HOUSE DINING MANAGED BY SODEXO

BREAKS
• One week period per semester when students
• All year students can donate excess meals. donate their excess swipes.
• All year students can request meals if they
• Donations are converted into vouchers for the
are running low through logging into their

DOWN
dining hall distributed by The Rack campus pantry.
CatCard mobile ID or iCare web app.
METRICS
METRICS In the 2017-2018 school year 635 meals
In the 2017-2018 school year 19,167+ meals were donated.
NO TWO CAMPUSES ARE THE SAME. were donated.

Cal State East Bay

DINING MANAGED BY ARAMARK
• Meal donation drive each semester where students can donate
leftover swipes redistributed through the HOPE campus pantries.
• Aramark provides additional meal swipes as needed.

METRICS
In the 2017-2018 school year, 3,428 meals were donated.
Aramark provided an additional 260 meals.

CASE STUDIES
 WHO WE SERVE*
RECEIVED FREE

48% 59%
ARE FIRST OR REDUCED
GENERATION PRICED MEALS
STUDENTS WHILE IN K-12

9% 51%
HAVE TAKEN
LACK STABLE
LEFTOVERS

HOUSING IN

FROM CLUB
COLLEGE
MEETINGS

*In the Spring of 2018 Swipe Out Hunger conducted its first ever comprehensive
pilot evaluation. 800 students from private and public universities who have
received SOH meal passes responded.
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OUR IMPACT
academic success
health
inclusion

“I have become more resilient to

stressful situations now that I am
eating regularly.”
Noah*
Fourth Year, Cal Poly SLO

*names have been changed

IMPACT ON STUDENT
64%
of respondents agree
meal swipes helped

ACADEMIC
them stay in school

SUCCESS 52%
of respondents agree
meal swipes helped
improve their grades

“I got my first dean’s honor list because I was able to have my nutritional needs met”
- Marcos, Third Year Student, UC Irvine
“I will stay at school longer because I can eat there and I am not distracted by being hungry in class.
- Deena, Second Year Student, College of St. Scholastica
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IMPACT ON STUDENT free meal swipes cut these factors by more than half

HEALTH & reliance on a diet of processed food

need to skip meals

NUTRITION worries food would run out

weight loss from lack of food

“By receiving free dining hall passes, I have been able to nourish my body
as needed instead of skipping meals or resorting to a ramen diet.”
Sonya, Second Year Student, UC Santa Barbara

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 IMPACT ON CAMPUS

INCLUSIVITY
“This program made me feel like the college
really cares about me, beyond academics.“
79%
of respondents agree that
meal swipes have made
Lucy, Third Year Student, Cal State Monterey Bay
them feel like the campus
“They helped me to build a community of environment is more
inclusive & supportive of
support. I had regular dining partners and students like them.
that strengthened our relationship.”
David, Third Year Student, Cal State East Bay

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OUR IMPACT
“After moving out of the dorms, I found myself
eating more meals at home by myself since it was
the only option I could afford. A free dining hall pass
makes it easy to connect with friends over a meal.”

Jonathan,
Fourth Year, UCSB
 FEEDBACK FROM
OUR CAMPUS Swipe Out Hunger’s support in starting and
maintaining meal share programs was rated
PROGRAM LEADERS 6.69 out of 7 by campus leaders.

71% of campus leaders agree that since joining

"Thank you so much for taking the time to speak
with me. It is so refreshing to have external
support to give us all the information needed to
support our work."
Campus Case Manager in California
the SOH movement, their campus has experienced
an improvement in students’ experience on
campus.
Campus leaders rated Swipe Out Hunger’s
knowledge on how to address campus hunger
as 6.65 out of 7.

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13
WE REACHED 50
CAMPUS PARTNERS
 2017 PRESS 2018

April 3, 2018

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 FUNDING PARTNERS
HELP US SERVE Leading Funders + Supporters in FY18
MORE STUDENTS IN Robert & Lisa Margolis Family Foundation  Westly Foundation
MORE COMMUNITIES Rita J. & Stanley H. Kaplan Family Foundation WeWork
Anthony and Jeannie Pritzker Family Foundation   Good People Fund 
VISIT SWIPEHUNGER.ORG/GROWTH
Michael and Irene Ross Endowment Laurie and Stephen Girsky
TO STRENGTHEN OUR WORK IN 2019
Jewish Community Foundation of LA UCLA Foundation
California Community Foundation Lyft

OUR TEAM
Financial Narrative
FY18 Budget: $202,000
FY19 Budget: $404,000
Rachel Sumekh Marissa Schnitman Maddie Alpert McCarthy
Began FY19 with healthy reserve
Founder & CEO Director of Programs National Coordinator Guided by strong Board of Directors
Forbes 30 Under 30 Data & Analytics Savant Growth + Communications
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 GOALS & STRATEGIES FOR THE 2018-19 SCHOOL YEAR
Growth and Efficacy

WHAT’S
.Reach new campuses and students, while ensuring that the *best practices* .
.around meal share programs are being employed and captured.

NEXT
Move Private Sector Forward
.Partner with major food service providers to integrate free
...meal swipes at an institutional scale.
we’re in new terrain
Put student voices at the forefront
Of our 800 student respondents, 180 students indicated willingness
We need experience, introductions and to publicly share their story. We aim to do just that starting
resources to strengthen our work as we ...with the launch of our anti-stigma campaign @OverlookedOnCampus,
seek to meet this moment of opportunity. … telling the true, overlooked stories of food insecure students.
Email our team and let’s get to work Advance Federal Legislation
rachel@swipehunger.org Advocate for progressive policy based on the release of
..Government Accountability Office (GAO) Report on student hunger.
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