PepsiCo Joins the Fight to Address Student Food Insecurity

Swipe Student Leaders Betty Zamora and Keilyn Rubio stand at the Arbor, the active and bustling heart of University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) campus, asking their peers “Got extra swipes?” This quarter stood out as we partnered with PepsiCo to sponsor even more meal swipes for the Swipe Out Hunger program. At UCSB, students can donate up to three swipes on a weekly basis that will then be redistributed to their peers experiencing food insecurity on campus. Eighty percent of swipes turn into meal vouchers for Gauchos in need and the other 20% is converted to a monetary value, which is used to purchase food for local shelters.

During this Fall 2019 quarter, PepsiCo is matching swipes donated by students and sponsoring additional meals, which will lead to more than 2,600 extra meal vouchers for students facing food insecurity on UCSB’s campus. This sponsorship will have a significant impact on the lives of UCSB’s students. We are so grateful for PepsiCo’s partnership and leadership in supporting college students’ basic needs.

We believe many partners across sectors need to be at the table to address food insecurity on college campuses in a sustainable and thoughtful way. In this last year, we have seen a marked shift in the amount of corporations operating in the higher education space that see their role and responsibility in developing solutions to end college hunger.