NEW BERLIN, N.Y. — Food insecurity is one of the most pervasive and devastating afflictions nationwide, impacting one in 10 Americans. College campuses are among the most affected, yet overlooked, communities, where one in three students faces hunger1.
Costly housing, transportation, healthcare and 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 believes college hunger is unacceptable and is joining forces with Swipe Out Hunger, the leading 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.”
Chobani 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 November 1, 2021 at 2pm PT/5pm ET on the VICE News YouTube channel.
“We are very proud to help support this amazing and important campaign to raise awareness of the impact of food insecurity,” said Jesse Angelo, President Global News and Entertainment, VICE Media Group. “It’s a critical systemic issue that we hope our audience will engage in and help take action to end.”
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. The summit will feature a roundtable discussion with student leaders and remarks from:
- Hamdi Ulukaya, Founder and CEO of Chobani
- Peter McGuinness, President and COO of Chobani
- Rachel Sumekh, Founder and CEO of Swipe Out Hunger
- U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, Chair, House Rules Committee (D-MA)
- Phil Rosenthal, television writer and producer for shows including Everybody Loves Raymond. He is also the creator and host of Somebody Feed Phil.
To learn more about the upcoming college hunger summit and to register, please visit http://www.chobanicollegehungersummit.com/.
Chobani and Swipe Out Hunger’s 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
About Swipe Out Hunger
Swipe Out Hunger is a national nonprofit committed to ending college student hunger. The organization works with colleges and universities to design and implement a range of anti-hunger programs, including “The Swipe Drive” which enables students to donate meals to their peers facing food insecurity on campus. Swipe Out Hunger promotes on-campus solutions, policy and advocacy, and student empowerment practices to address college food insecurity. Recognized for its entrepreneurial nature, Swipe Out Hunger has been named an Obama White House Champion For Change and its founder, Rachel Sumekh, has landed a spot on the Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list. From its beginnings as a grassroots movement at UCLA in 2010, Swipe Out Hunger has since served 2.5 million nourishing meals across 41 states and more than 140 campuses. For more information, visit swipehunger.org.
About Chobani
Chobani is a food maker with a mission of making high-quality and nutritious food accessible to more people, while elevating our communities and making the world a healthier place. In short: making good food for all. In support of this mission, we are a values-driven, people-first, food-and-wellness-focused company, and have been since Hamdi Ulukaya, an immigrant to the U.S., founded the company in 2005. We produce yogurt, oatmilk, dairy- and plant-based creamers, ready-to-drink coffee and plant-based probiotic drinks. Chobani is America’s No.1 yogurt brand, and we are proud to offer products made with only natural ingredients, without artificial preservatives.
Chobani uses food as a force for good in the world—putting humanity first in everything we do. Our philanthropic efforts prioritize giving back to our communities and beyond: working to eradicate child hunger, supporting immigrants, refugees and underrepresented people, honoring veterans, and protecting the planet. We manufacture our products in New York, Idaho, and Australia. Chobani products are available throughout North America and distributed in Australia and other select markets. For more information, please visit http://www.chobani.com/ and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
About VICE News
VICE News produces hundreds of hours of award-winning original news programming every year. Built on world-class reporting by a new generation of global correspondents, VICE News’ immersive style delivers groundbreaking reportage and redefines news and current affairs programming for youth audiences around the world. VICE News produces content for prestigious media partners including A+E Networks, Showtime, Spotify, iHeartMedia, and Hulu. VICE News’ international and domestic reporting is featured across VICE’s digital, television and social platforms.
1 https://hope4college.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Wisconsin-HOPE-Lab-Still-Hungry-and-Homeless.pdf
