Felix Balderas 
UTRGV – The UTRGV Food Pantry, in partnership with Swipe Out Hunger, is helping combat food insecurity among students by giving them a chance to request meal grants to access daily meals at the university dining hall.
“If they don’t have a meal plan, they are automatically approved, and if they have a meal plan that’s very low, they are also approved. … What we are trying to do is make this program available for all students,” said Jaime Richeson, Food Pantry program manager.
Students are encouraged to take advantage of whatever services are available. If meals do run out, there are still ways to request some. For example, the Food Pantry at UTRGV partners up with other organizations to provide menus of food available.
“The big thing is to make sure that students here at the university are successful,” Richeson said. “One of the things that we want is for them not to worry about meals; that’s the reason why we let them know they can take advantage of the food pantry as well.”
There is a limit for the program–one meal a day for five days. Then, students have to reapply for a meal request.
To access the meal request form, visit https://www.utrgv.edu/foodpantry/.
Students who are facing food insecurity can fill out a meal request form and expect to hear back within a couple of days.
