Costly housing, transportation and healthcare, as well as rising tuition, have created financial hardships for college students, especially those students who are parenting, from the foster care system, first generation, working full time or even homeless. Chobani LLC said it believes college hunger is unacceptable and is joining forces with Swipe Out Hunger, a nonprofit addressing this issue, to tackle this problem.
“Too many college students skip meals to cut corners and save money — not because they’re busy or forget to eat lunch,” said Chobani’s President and COO Peter McGuinness. “These students should be allowed to focus on their education, creating bright futures without worrying about their next meals. We are proud to do our part to help.”
New Berlin, N.Y.-based Chobani said it will fund food security efforts at 23 schools in partnership with Swipe Out Hunger, kickstarting or bolstering existing programs at those schools. The donation will help Swipe Out Hunger bring its expertise, including ongoing consulting and coaching, to campuses in Chobani’s home states of New York and Idaho.
“Chobani’s commitment thoughtfully addresses student hunger by helping colleges support their students after an extremely challenging year and a half,” said Rachel Sumekh, founder and CEO of Swipe Out Hunger. “Chobani’s dedication underscores that everyone has a pivotal role to play in ending college student hunger.”
To continue to raise awareness about this underreported issue, Chobani and Swipe Out Hunger are also collaborating with VICE News to host a virtual summit on Nov. 1, 2021, at 2 p.m. PT/5 p.m. ET on the VICE News YouTube channel.
The summit will bring together leaders from the nonprofit, private and public sectors who are pushing for stronger federal and state policies to support college students across the country. Chobani said the summit will feature a roundtable discussion with student leaders and remarks from:
- Hamdi Ulukaya, founder and CEO of Chobani.
- Peter McGuinness, president and chief operating officer of Chobani.
- Rachel Sumekh, founder and CEO of Swipe Out Hunger.
- U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, chair, House Rules Committee (D-Mass.).
- Phil Rosenthal, television writer and producer for shows, including “Everybody Loves Raymond.”
To learn more about the upcoming college hunger summit and to register, please visit www.chobanicollegehungersummit.com.
Chobani said the partnership will support the following colleges:
Idaho:
- University of Idaho
- College of Southern Idaho
- Boise State University
- College of Western Idaho
- Idaho State University
New York:
- SUNY Oneonta
- Hartwick College
- Colgate University
- SUNY Polytechnic Institute
- SUNY Binghamton University
- SUNY Cobleskill
- Hamilton College
- Utica College
- Syracuse University
- Le Moyne College
- Cazenovia College
- SUNY Morrisville
- SUNY Broome Community College
- Mohawk Valley Community College
- Herkimer County Community College
- Onondaga Community College
- CUNY Medgar Evers College
- CUNY Hunter College
