April 20, 2024

Stop Hunger Campaigns Launch

Junior Caitlin O'Leary helps at last year's food drive.

Junior Caitlin O’Leary helps at last year’s food drive.

Stop Hunger University Dining/Sodexo, the University Staff Council, UMW Athletes, and local businesses and churches are partnering together to host our annual Stop Hunger Food Drive, from October 13 through November 1, and they are looking for your support. All of the food and monetary donations will go to benefit the UMW Eagle Resource Closet and the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank.

Anyone wishing to support the drive with food, monetary, or meal plan/Flex donations will find details on the University Dining web site.

Swipe Out Hunger Meal Plan  University Dining/Sodexo has donated 3,600 meals to create a new Swipe Out Hunger meal plan for the benefit of UMW students experiencing food insecurity. This new plan will be administered by the University Host, Chris Porter, with assistance from Leslie Martin, who coordinates the Eagle Resource Closet, Patty Land in the EagleOne Card office, and with Rose Benedict, the University Dining/Sodexo Swipe Out Hunger champion. Chris has established a Google nomination form that students can use to apply for meals through the Swipe Out Hunger meal plan. When approved, these students will have meals loaded onto their EagleOne cards, and they will be able to swipe in at the Top of the UC in the same way all other students who are on meal plans swipe in. There will be nothing in the process that identifies these students as being recipients of meal assistance. All information is kept confidential.

Everyone who has been working to bring this new assistance option to UMW is eager to have any and all students who need nutritional support apply for these meals. Please help spread the word about the availability of this new dining plan to your friends, colleagues and students.

For more information about applying for meals, contact Chris at cjporter@umw.edu. For more information about the Swipe Out Hunger program and Sodexo’s partnership with that organization, contact Rose Benedict at rbenedic@umw.edu.

If you, or a student you know, would like to apply for meals, please use this LINK.  It will take you directly to the application form.