USC must establish a donation program for leftover meal swipes

Deciding on a meal plan can be a stressful endeavour, especially when looking at plans’ outrageously high prices. USC’s cheapest plan for freshmen is the Cardinal Plan. For $3,315, students are granted 19 swipes per week or 2.7 swipes per day. Although this system may sound great, it assumes that all students are not only eating roughly three meals a day but also choosing to eat all three meals where swipes are accepted. This means no outside restaurants and no dinners at the dorm. 

Although it may provide a sense of nutritional security, a meal plan requirement for all incoming students perpetuates the idea of USC as a money-hungry institution. At institutions like USC, swipes are nonrefundable and don’t roll over, which makes it feel like students lose money by not fully taking advantage of their meal plans. To better combat this sense of money and food waste, USC should implement its own donation cycles for weekly leftover meal swipes. 

Our community needs these leftover swipes now more than ever. A recent report conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture found that in 2020, roughly 10.5% of American households fell under the category of food-insecure at some time during the year.  In Los Angeles County, the number of households that experienced some type of food disruption — instances of food insecurity — rose to roughly 33% between the months of April and December 2020. Food shelters have also struggled to keep up with drastic rises in prices. 

The current inflation surge in the U.S. means that food prices and labor shortages are seriously harming charities. The demand for food is growing and so are the costs.

Back in 2012, USC partnered with a student organization called “Swipes for the Homeless.” From its efforts, per a 2014 document released by the University, an average of $20,000 worth of food per semester was given to unhoused individuals in L.A. County. From 2014 onward, Trojans were invited to download an app that would then prompt them to pledge a donation of their extra dining dollars at the end of the semester. Although the pledging window opened and closed two weeks before break, the actual funds were not taken out until the window for the semester closed. 

A spinoff group, “Trojans Give Back,” organizes food drives for students to donate food they purchase with leftover swipes. Its Instagram, @sctrojansgiveback, announces every week when another donation cycle is occurring — usually Fridays from 12 to 3 p.m. in front of Popovich Hall — as well as important information about food insecurity in L.A.

The issue with this organization is not at all the way in which students run or structure it. These efforts come from the students themselves and are not an initiative conducted by the University. USC has more than enough funds to set up a weekly food drive for those willing to give their unused swipes, so why is it not? It’s almost impossible to find an answer.

As shifty as many are behind the scenes, USC lacks transparency about where it allocates money leftover from dining plans. Not only is the school not funding nor supporting any efforts to give food back to the L.A. community but it buried whatever financial information may aid in understanding why the meal plans are so expensive in the first place. 

The school is undeniably lacking, and as unfortunate as it is, the meals of hundreds of people across L.A. are in the hands of the students, not the billion dollar institution. It is time for USC to step forward and prioritize its community as much as its students.