Penn State students put up impressive donation numbers during Earth Week this past April, raising more than $29,000 for the Student Emergency Fund by donating extra dining dollars from their campus meal plans. The leftover dining dollars were donated to the charitable organization, Swipe Out Hunger, which has quickly become one of the leading food donation programs for universities across the country.

According to an official university release, all Penn State residential campuses participated in Swipe Out Hunger in conjunction with Earth Week 2021, when students had the opportunity to donate excess dining dollars from their meal plans any time they dined on campus.

Students who have excess dining dollars left over on their meal plans were given the option to donate $5, $10, or $15 at a time from their campus meal plan when dining on campus. At the time students purchase a meal at any dining commons on campus, they simply tell the cashier how many dining dollars they would like to contribute, in increments of $5.

The funds raised will go to support the Student Emergency Fund -- a program that provides short-term financial assistance to students experiencing crisis situations. The program is run through the university's Student Care & Advocacy.

Dining dollar donations from Penn State's flagship University Park campus dining commons, HUB-Robeson Center dining locations, and Commonwealth Campuses reached a grand total of $29,502.67.

Swipe Out Hunger is a national nonprofit with the mission of ending college student hunger. The organization works with more than 130 colleges and universities nationwide to implement anti-hunger programs.

The group that brought Swipe Out Hunger to Penn State included task force subcommittee members from the university's Housing and Food Services, Student Affairs, Challah for Hunger and Penn State Hillel, as well as students who work with the university's on campus food pantry, Lion's Pantry.