Central Michigan University has launched a meal swipe donation program designed to help hungry students on campus.
As reported by Flint, Michigan's ABC 12, the meal swipe donation program will enable students to donate unused guest swipes to fellow students facing food insecurity. The donated swipes will be placed into a bank from which students in need can receive the additional meals.
CMU students can begin donating guest meal swipes on February 10 by visiting the CentralCard office. To receive a donated swipe, students must first register via an online form hosted on CMU's Engage Central student resource website.
In addition to the meal swipe donation program, CMU is also running a second program that offers students an affordable, $1.00 meal. The meals can be purchased from 6-7 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays at a campus food court in CMU's student union.
The $1.00 meals will make use of any unused food from dining operations on campus and will include items like soup, sandwiches, fruits and vegetables.
Both the dollar-meal program and the meal swipe donations are intended to provide CMU students facing food insecurity with immediate relief, rather than providing a long-term solution.
University officials say the programs will at least provide relief for students so they can focus more in the classroom and not worry about where their next meal will come from.
Meal swipe donation programs are popping up on campuses across the country as a means to support students in need. Check out our previous coverage of the topic to see what other universities are doing.