About Us

UCLA is the trailblazing founding site of Swipe Out Hunger, which initially began with a group of friends. When their grassroots efforts were featured in the campus newspaper because of administrator pushback, a student senator joined the efforts and together, they made Swipe Out Hunger an institution at UCLA. The group continues to be a central voice on all things hunger and nutrition on campus.

At first glance, a college campus might look like a place of equal opportunity – communal dorms, shared dining halls, similar course loads. However, arriving on campus freshman year is not where the college access conversation ends if students’ basic needs are not being met.

A student’s ability to focus in class, stay in school, and feel part of the campus community are threatened by food insecurity. While 1 in 3 college students face food insecurity nationally, the stigma around being low-income and shut out from a communal space like the dining hall have kept the conversation out of mind for many college and dining administrators.

Swipe Out Hunger is committed to addressing this issue through a multifaceted approach. Our team organizes a quarterly Swipes Drive, works with Bruin Dine to distribute leftover dining hall food, and delivers fresh produce to graduate students. Additionally, our team is not limited to serving students; we also seek to positively impact the greater LA community by making sandwiches for the homeless, cooking nutritious meals for shelter residents, and fundraising for trusted anti-hunger organizations. We believe that reliable access to nutritious food is a human right and do all we can to address food insecurity.