Rachel Sumekh on Swiping Out Hunger on College Campuses

About This Episode

Rachel Sumekh, Founder & CEO of Swipe Out Hunger, discusses hunger on Swipe Out Hunger campuses and the value of activism. “One in three college students in the US today is food insecure. We pitch education and we pitch going to college as a pathway to get out of poverty, and yet our students get there and we cannot deliver on that promise,” says Sumekh. Swipe Out Hunger is the leading nonprofit addressing hunger among college students with a range of anti-hunger programs in more than 140 colleges. Their flagship program, ‘The Swipe Drive,’ enables students to donate meals to their peers facing food insecurity on campus. “How we define the work really matters… If we see our work as a greater vision of building a world where everyone who wants to get an education has food in their stomachs and has an educational experience that makes them feel welcome and whole and complete… we build a different world.” Sumekh, who founded the organization with her friends as a college student, encourages listeners to get involved with issues important to them. “This is such an incredible time in our country's history to be an activist, so follow that spark, even if no one in your family understands what that means,” she advises.