Congress Passed $6.28 Billion in Emergency Aid for College Students

Posted by Rachel Sumekh

Mar 27, 2020

To our Swipe Community,

Last week, we teamed up with our advocacy partners, Rise, and asked you to show support for a $1.2 billion emergency financial aid proposal from Sen. Patty Murray. You joined students and supporters from across the nation, sending thousands of letters to Congress and the Trump Administration–– and they heard you loud and clear. The House and Senate have both passed a historic $6.28 billion in emergency financial aid for students–– a nearly 6 fold increase from the initial proposal.

As many of you know personally, college students and their families have been significantly impacted by recent campus closures – losing access to food, housing, and jobs. Without our support, it is estimated that millions of students will be unable to return to school due to the economic instability caused by COVID-19.

But this win gives us hope because it shows the power of students’ advocacy to help get big things done. If we continue to make our voices heard in the months ahead, we’ll make sure that no student has to choose between paying for their degree or their next meal or a safe roof over their heads.

Your signatures and donations helped bring about this historic win.

But Swipe Out Hunger’s work is only just beginning. For 10 years, we have partnered with universities–– and now, we will be there to guide them in effectively using these funds to launch critically needed meal programs or emergency aid funds.

There will be more hungry students than ever before when campuses reopen. We will continue to advocate, organize, and build essential meal share programs in the days ahead, and we hope you can join us and our students by supporting our work today.

Thank you for being a part of this victory for students across the country!

Elbow bump,