2nd Swipe It Forward

Student Support Foundation started Swipe it Forward last year here at Plymouth State University. It is an existing charity campaign that was proven successful in other schools, such as the University of New Hampshire.

COURTESY PHOTO

The way Swipe it Forward works is students who have meal plans get the opportunity to donate one meal swipe each. That swipe goes to someone who has either used up all of their swipes, or doesn’t have a meal plan. Some students who live off-campus like to apply for swipes for convenience. This way, they don’t have to worry about not having a meal plan. As a result of this, many juniors and seniors take advantage of this, so they don’t have to cook or buy themselves food every day. It’s good to have a small amount of swipes, for those days they spend on campus longer than others.

This program brings light to a pressing issue in the United States. Americans produce more than enough food a year to feed the population twice over. Yet, forty percent of the calories never get consumed, and they go to waste. The fact that people go hungry in this country is especially despairing because it is avoidable. Swipe it Forward is a way to battle that on campus, by making sure students have access to meals in a convenient location.

The first Swipe it Forward was held last fall and received 800 meal swipes. People who applied typically received around 20 swipes each. This year, donations were held from November 5th to 16th. They received approximately 1100 swipes in total. This was a huge increase in swipes from last years, and the people at SSF are very happy to report that the program is so successful.

Since they gathered such a good amount of swipes, and since they did it later in the semester, they gave out less swipes than last year. They decided that they wanted to help more people, and limit the swipes to 10 swipes per person this year. That way they can feed as much of the community as they can and fulfill as many requests as possible.

Swipe it Forward is of course associated with the Student Support Foundation, which was founded by Carrie Morgridge and her husband John. They happen to be PSU alumnus of the class of 1985. Their mission was to help feed people and make the community better for everyone.

SSF set up Swipe it Forward. It is not a school run project, but it still helps the students and faculty of PSU. However, Plymouth State is the home of the food pantry. People who received the meal swipes from Swipe it Forward are recommended to go there. There is all sorts of food for people to pick from and bring home to their own kitchens.

SSF can help students out financially as well. They want students to know that they offer emergency grants. They have funds for short-term needs such as textbooks, school supplies, medical issues, and travel. They’re able to give out these funds since they fundraise, and receive money from the Morgridge’s. SSF also sees donations from big names on campus, including Paula Lee Hobson and President Birx.

For more information on this, and to learn the qualifications for applying, visit https://campus.plymouth.edu/student-support-foundation/emergency-assistance/.

Anyone who needs meal swipes, or any assistance from SSF, should email the program advisor, Casey Krafton, at cakrafton@plymouth.edu