George Washington University is partnering with Swipe Out Hunger to run an end of semester food donation campaign underpinned by the university’s GWorld campus card. Swipe Out Hunger is a national nonprofit whose mission is to battle food insecurity on college campuses, and provide a means for students, faculty and staff to donate to campus peers in need.
According to an official university release, the end of semester donation campaign will run through May 31, and will enable members of the GW community to donate unused balances from their GWorld card to The Store, GW’s food pantry. Students and staff can also elect to donate GWorld funds to the Abrahms Family Fund, which provides emergency Colonial Cash to students in need.
Colonial Cash is the primary GWorld Card spending account. GWorld cardholders can add Colonial Cash to their credential for making purchases and receive discounts around campus.
Students cannot receive a refund for unspent money on their GWorld cards. Students also can’t transfer funds between GWorld accounts or to their student account to pay for things like tuition. GWorld Dining Dollars and Colonial Cash balances can be spent year round and always roll over to the following academic year.
For graduating students, the GWorld card typically expires on September 1. Graduating students have the option to purchase an Alumni GWorld card and transfer any remaining balance to that card.
“Swipe Out Hunger is a great program, and there’s no cost to the university,” said Emily Dieker, director of GWorld at George Washington in a statement to GW Today. “100% of all of the funds donated go directly back to supporting our students in need.”
The Swipe Out Hunger campaign at GW dates back to November of 2020, when the university’s dining services department and the GWorld office spearheaded a partnership.
Swipe Out Hunger offers an alternative for students who will have unspent money to help their peers in need. Food insecurity on college campuses has grown in recent years. A recent Swipe Out Hunger study indicates that since March 2020, 35% of college students have reported hunger as having impacted their ability to study.
To donate, students can visit the “Meal Donations” tab in CBORD’s GET Mobile app — the platform that students and employees use to manage their GWorld accounts. Once students are in their account, they can select the account, either Dining Dollars or Colonial Cash, and the amount they wish to donate. Once the transaction is approved, the donation is made immediately.
Every dollar donated goes directly toward purchasing food that will be stocked in The Store food pantry. GW’s food pantry purchases items from nearby grocers including Wegmans and Aldi, as well as works with Capital Area Food Bank to gather additional donations.
Donating GWorld funds through Swipe Out Hunger is completely voluntary, and donations are not tax deductible. All donations made to Swipe Out Hunger are split evenly between The Store food pantry and the Abrahms Family Fund.
