By: Amber Mears
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (UATV) — The Associated Student Government is partnering with the Division of Student Affairs to launch the Meal Swipe Request Form.
This program is an initiative aimed at supporting students facing food insecurity on campus. the program provides eligible students with additional meal swipes at no cost to ensure those in need have access to nutritious meals.
Manas Patel, the director of dining services at the University of Arkansas, emphasizes the difference the program is making on campus.
“The meal swipe request form is all about giving back to the students who don’t have enough money to buy a meal plan,” Patel said. “Its whole purpose is to give to students who need meal swipes the ability to get food on campus.”
Students who would like to apply to the program can access the form through ASG HogSYNC. Applications will be reviewed weekly to ensure students in need can receive timely access to this resource.
The form includes questions such as whether the student currently has a meal plan, a scale to assess their need for meal swipes, and a personal statement detailing their need for the swipes or their difficulty accessing or purchasing off-campus meals.
Once an application is approved, up to four meal swipes will be directly added to the student’s account. The swipes can be redeemed at any campus dining hall through swiping a student ID.
Previously, the university addressed food insecurity through a meal swipe drive, where students could donate unused meal swipes to others in exchange for service hours. With the help of the university, the program has transitioned to the request form this year to assist more students in need.
“Chancellor Robinson gave us the money to access these meal swipes, we have 1,004 meal swipes to hand out this semester,” Patel explained.
This initiative will remain available until the end of the semester or until all available swipes have been allocated. Each student is allowed one request per semester.