CBU Eats, a meal swipe donation program, returned for the fall semester to provide meals for commuter students.
At California Baptist University, students are often left with too many meal swipes or they run out too quickly. With endless dining options and more than 12,000 students on campus, the Office of Student Support created an initiative to make sure every student could enjoy a hot meal on campus.
In September, every CBU student received an email with the program’s full details and a link to donate their meal swipes. Whether it was one, three or five meal swipes, one student’s donation provided a meal for a Lancer in need.
In an email sent to the CBU student body, Shane Blake, director of student care, wrote about the success of the program upon its introduction last year.
“Thanks to generous students like you, our CBU Eats program provided over 500 meals last school year to commuting students who didn’t know where their next meal would come from,” Blake wrote.
Nadine Rivera, freshman pre-nursing major, talked about the benefits of the meal swipe donation program from a commuter’s perspective.
“I feel like it’s good just because most of us commuters, we don’t have jobs or anything like that so it’s good for us to get something… for free a little bit, and I just think it’s very helpful for us,” Rivera said.
With the reintroduction of CBU Eats this semester, the Office of Student Care increased its goal with the hopes of expanding its reach on campus.
“This fall, we’re aiming even higher with a goal of 1,000 meals because we know that behind every meal is a student who deserves to feel supported, nourished, and seen,” Blake said.
Vianey Estrada, freshman pre-nursing major, shared a statistic that highlights to the large commuter population at CBU.
“It is definitely a really big impact for commuters,” Estrada said. “In one of my classes, we had statistics and stuff, and it’s like 40% of freshman or something crazy [are] commuters and… that’s just insane so there’s definitely people out there who need it because they’re on campus. Some commuters come from really far, so it can really benefit them.”
From Chick-Fil-A to Fireside, students can use the donated meal swipes at any dining location on campus. Students who usually have unused meal swipes by the end of the semester are encouraged to donate them and will be able to do so in future semesters. One meal swipe can make the difference in a fellow student’s experience, ensuring that no Lancer goes hungry.
