Swipe Out Hunger Announces Winners for CUNY Pitch Competition!

Posted by Swipe Out Hunger

Nov 19, 2019

This fall, Healthy CUNY and Swipe Out Hunger partnered for its first ever pitch competition on the search for innovative solutions to food insecurity across the CUNY campuses to create lasting change in their communities.

After a competitive process, we are pleased to announce the two winners: Plentiful and Wishes for Dishes. Recipients receive seed funding to implement their innovative, collaborative, and sustainable projects, as well as planning and coaching support from the teams at Swipe Out Hunger and Healthy CUNY throughout project implementation.

Read more about the winning projects below:

Plentiful is a completely free, easy-to-use reservation system for food pantries and the people they serve. People can find pantries and get the food they need, without waiting in line. Pantries get better data, are more organized, and provide better service.

As a CUNY student, I know what it’s like to be both pressed for time and to feel the social and economic stigma of looking to food pantries. Plentiful on CUNY campuses will provide a dignified experience in utilizing pantries and be more efficient for the student population who is hungry to learn and shouldn’t be worried about meeting their basic food needs.

Vanson Lee

Plentiful Ambassador

Wishes For Dishes offers specialty and culturally-representative foods, of which a percentage of the profits go to those facing food insecurity in the form of food vouchers. Wishes For Dishes will not only bring food to the stomach of those who need it, but culturally inclusive meals to those who crave it.

Students joke around about food insecurity saying, “I don’t have enough money today,” but it isn’t spoken about seriously. Underneath joking outwardly, there is part of them that does worry about it. I hope Wishes for Dishes will help students focus on their education, rather than their food and health. They will have the chance to better themselves in other ways rather than worrying where their next meal is coming from.

Aleena Abraham

Co-Founder of Wishes For Dishes

As Plentiful and Wishes For Dishes begin to launch each program, we look forward to sharing updates and news about each project’s implementation. We hope you’ll join us in congratulating both Plentiful and Wishes For Dishes for this amazing achievement!

Thank you to the Good People Fund for supporting this initiative!

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