By Piper Rutherford | Staff Writer, Marissa Muniz | LTVN Broadcast Reporter
All-University Thanksgiving feeds 10,000 to 12,000 students each year, including the 1,3000 students who are classified as food insecure at Baylor with the help of the Share a Meal campaign.
LTVN’s Marissa Muniz has the behind-the-scenes look at All-University Thanksgiving.
Maddie Whitmore, director of Food Insecurity Programs for Baylor Eats, said that meal swipe donations at Baylor first began a few years ago, after the Swipe Out Hunger Foundation started a nationwide movement for college students to give back to their classmates experiencing food insecurity.
“How it works is students can choose to donate their five dining hall guest swipes by letting our associates know at the point of sale how many you want to donate,” Whitmore said. “This then goes behind-the-scenes into a big pot of meal swipes.”
As for how these meal swipes make it to the accounts of students in-need, Whitmore said the on-campus food pantry, The Store, adds the number of swipes requested by a student to their ID card.
“Students can donate their swipes all year long; it is not limited to the season of Thanksgiving,” Whitmore said. “Events like these are a big reminder how much of a social aspect eating and sharing a meal with others is, which is why we use All-University Thanksgiving as a big push for students to share what they have with those less fortunate in their community.”
Similarly, DeLand, Fla., senior McKenzie Williams, public relations co-chair for Student Foundation, said that this sense of taking care of family is felt deeply by students at All-University Thanksgiving, especially those who cannot go home over break — like international students or those who have to remain in Waco for work — and gives students the chance to pause and enjoy a nice meal with their friends and classmates.
“I remember going to All-University Thanksgiving my freshman year,” Williams said. “That is the night when I met my best friends and for the first time, Baylor truly felt like home to me.”
Many of those who were in attendance at the event from 5-8:30 p.m. on Wednesday were greeted by Sebastian and Tabitha, petting zoo Slate Turkeys from Ogle Farms, before lining up for food as they waited to fill their plates with turkey, mashed potatoes, pecan pie and Baylor’s own signature dish, Dr. Pepper glazed ham.
