Meal swipe donations reach a record high in third year
Students donated 16,095 meal swipes to off-campus students this semester, almost double last spring’s 8,224 swipes, according to Student Association President Jae Kim.
According to Taylor Breashears, the associate director of Student Success Initiatives, Housing and Dining has increased how many swipes each student can donate swipes, so there were more applicants for swipes and donations this year. Breashears said the program has been growing each year despite some difficulties in coordinating the donations.
“I think it’s a successful program overall; there are some logistical challenges that make it tough. For example, we cannot distribute the swipes until they have been donated and that can make it hard for off-campus students who are struggling with food insecurity the first week of school,” Breshears wrote in an email to the Thresher. “Over the past few years, we have worked to quickly distribute the swipes as soon as possible. I’m so grateful that donations have increased over the past few years.”
This year, the program provided swipes to 296 students, Breshears said.
Kim said the SA is also working with H&D to develop a meal plan with fewer swipes for on-campus students. According to Kim, students donate as many swipes as possible because the on-campus meal plan has a surplus of swipes.
“If we can make that happen, then I’m sure that max number of swipes [students can donate] will go down a little since students won’t have such an enormous amount,” Kim said.
Beth Leaver, senior executive director of H&D, said the department will pilot another donation period before spring break. Students could donate additional meal swipes for the remainder of the semester, and Tetra for students in need during the summer.
“Our vision is for the meal swipe donation program to continue reflecting our culture of care and support for students,” Leaver wrote in an email to the Thresher. “Since some students face challenges accessing consistent meal options during the summer, we hope Tetra donations will provide meaningful support. Long-term, we aim to leverage data analysis to improve distribution and ensure every swipe is utilized, enhancing the program’s efficiency and impact.”
Kim says he was pleased with the increased excitement around the program this year and hopes it will increase the program’s longevity.
“At Rice or really any other university, once [something] becomes institutionalized and it becomes kind of like a tradition, it becomes easier to maintain,” Kim said. “I’m happy that it looks like the meal circulation program has become institutionalized. It’ll just continue on.”
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