AU students react to meal swipe donation program

By Zoe Kallenekos

Veronica Pacheco walked out of American University’s Terrace Dining Room armed with provisions: extra fruit, a sandwich, some leftovers. A crunch sounded as she bit into her breakfast: a granola bar that saved her from using up one of her shrinking meal swipes.

“That definitely was just a time where it was just very uncertain,” remembered Pacheco, 21, about that Fall 2019 experience. “I was kind of like, ‘Alright, how do I make sure I have enough to eat for the rest of the semester?’”

Fearing she would run out, Pacheco decided to request additional swipes that semester from Eagles Helping Eagles, AU’s meal swipe donation program during its pilot phase. AU denied Pacheco’s request, she said, because she still had swipes left in her account.

Veronica Pacheco sits outside The Market, American University’s food pantry. Photo by Zoe Kallenekos.

Now, with AU fully in-person again following closure from the coronavirus pandemic, students can once again give away up to five meal swipes to students in need.

Before starting a meal swipe donation program, AU’s Office of Campus Life sought to address student food insecurity by opening a food pantry, known as “The Market” in 2017. This was the result of a 2016 survey of 700 AU students, conducted by student Emily Dalgo, which found that 44% of students had dealt with food insecurity at some point and 59% were aware of another student who did not have enough food.

This issue is part of a nationwide trend of college students struggling to have enough food: Over a third of students said that hunger has impacted their ability to study at some point, with a similar number saying they knew someone who had dropped out due to difficulties affording food, in a 2020 study.

Kimiya Parker-Hill holds a bag with items she picked up from The Market. Photo by Zoe Kallenekos.

Kimiya Parker-Hill, 19, makes regular visits to The Market, and believes that the meal swipe donation program is an important addition to AU’s efforts to feed its students.

“It’s not a sufficient amount for everyone,” Parker-Hill said. “They should have the same option to go get a burger or not have to worry about having to pay for a pizza.”

First-year and sophomore students living in campus housing must have a meal plan with a minimum of 175 meals, costing $2,527 per semester and 100 meals, costing $1,644 per semester, respectively. By the end of the semester, students who depend on AU’s dining locations for their food may be running out, while those who can afford to get meals elsewhere might have a majority of swipes unused.

Gizem Toksoz returns her plate after eating a meal at American University’s Terrace Dining Room. Photo by Zoe Kallenekos.

A week before the end of the semester, first-year student Gizem Toksoz said she had only used 44 swipes — just about a quarter of swipes on her purchased plan.

Toksoz, along with Pacheco and Parker-Hill, said she believed students should be allowed to donate more than five meal swipes. This policy will be reviewed in the Spring, according to an email from Calvin Haney, associate director of student engagement.

Toksoz, 18, said that she would probably not donate meal swipes largely due to the timing of the program. AU announced that donations could be made between Dec. 13 to Dec. 17 — otherwise known as finals week.

“I’m a bit overwhelmed and stressed out of my mind about finals,” Toksoz said. “I honestly don’t know if I have the time to sit there and go through that process.”

Haney said he believes that the OCL gave students a limited window to make donations so that no student would start to provide for a peer and then run out of meal swipes for themselves. Parker-Hill, who plans to donate to the program, questions this timing.

“It should be a yearlong thing,” Parker-Hill said. “Finals week isn’t enough.”