Students are currently able to put unused guest passes from the Fall semester into a pool of meals which will be used by future students who are facing temporary food insecurity.

Any student with the Everyday, Deluxe and Weekday meal plans can donate those swipes until Nov. 30.

According to Jess Errico, a fifth-year studying mechanical and aerospace engineering and student body president, the initiative began with Student Government but quickly became a partnership with Campus Enterprises to assess different options on how to address the issue.

Randy Lait, senior director of Hospitality Services, is the representative who worked on the initiative this semester. He said that Pack Meal Share began as a way to respond to the needs of students.

“We determined that students who have guest meals already have a means by which, if they so choose, they could take another person to lunch,” Lait said. “This establishes a voluntary peer-to-peer donation of a meal that was meant for someone else.”

Errico said that the need was factored into their administration’s platform after a study was released that found that a large part of the student body faced a type of food insecurity.

While there are long-term programs for students who are experiencing food insecurity, Errico said that there were no programs that fulfill an immediate need, individuals may have in case of an emergency.

“Last year, there was a food insecurity study that came out that showed a significant percent of our student body was experiencing food insecurity both routinely and short term, and student government is responsible for advocating on student issues,” Errico said.

When a student requests support through the Pack Meal Share program, the Division of Academic and Student Affairs will assign a number of meals that will go on a student’s Wolfpack One card that they can swipe at dining halls.

Between Nov. 19-30, students can donate meals in Talley Student Union and Fountain Dining Hall and there is an online donation method available for those who did not make it to those locations.

Students with the Weekday, Deluxe and Everyday meal plans will receive an email with the link to donate their unused guest passes toward the end of each semester. 

Errico said that this initiative, along with others developed during this administration, were created to be sustainable and be a resource for students in years to come.

Lait talked about the root of the plan and how retaining the function of the guest pass is what made Pack Meal Share possible, and donating guest passes on a peer-to-peer basis allowed for the program to exist without raising prices for other students.

“There are certain things we cannot do: We cannot transfer meals and turn them into money for donation,” Lait said. “It was important that we keep it as a function of guest meals, which were already intended for one student to take another person to lunch or to a meal and to make it a voluntary peer-to-peer donation process.” 

According to Errico, the campaign collected 1,000 meals in the first two days of the drive. Students who are interested in learning more or signing up for the program can visit the DASA website and donate guest meals until Nov. 30.

The last day to donate meals in person is Nov. 28 at Fountain Dining Hall from 5 p.m.-7 p.m.