Mercyhurst University is the latest campus to join the student food insecurity non-profit, Swipe Out Hunger, enabling students to donate unused meal swipes. Spearheading the initiative at Mercyhurst, is a partnership between the university’s Community Engagement and OneCard offices alongside food-service provider Parkhurst Dining.

Card system vendor TouchNet has developed an extensive network of third-party vendors with its Ready Partner Program, designed to provide TouchNet customers with a catalog of third-party providers that are validated to integrate into TouchNet solutions. Among the ever-growing list of TouchNet Ready Partners is Starship Technologies – the company now renowned for its fleet of autonomous delivery robots. Robot delivery was already proving its viability before the arrival of a global pandemic, but it seems that this service has only grown in importance.

A new initiative from food service provider, Sodexo, and student food insecurity non-profit, Swipe Out Hunger, will bring the meal-swipe donation program to 100 new campuses nationwide. Following a successful pilot program, which provided more than 15,500 meals for 1,100 students during the Spring semester, the pair of organizations has announced the expansion of its Meal Swipe Bank to 100 new U.S. campuses by the end of 2021.

Drake University recently expanded the reach of its Bulldog Bucks off-campus program and declining balance account, enabling students and other Drake community members to make purchases at local businesses. The university hopes the initiative will foster a stronger town-gown relationship by helping to both encourage students to explore more of the Drake neighborhood, as well as support local businesses affected by the pandemic.

A student-led initiative brought Green2Go reusable containers to Carleton College last spring, and despite campus changes amid the coronavirus the containers have been a successful fit on the Northfield, MN campus. Plans for the reusable container program preceded the arrival of COVID-19 as a simple sustainability measure, but changing perceptions around eating in at campus dining halls might be breathing new life into the program.

A fleet of 20 Starship delivery robots began processing student orders at Oregon State University this week. The popular autonomous delivery robots are now serving OSU students, faculty and staff with contactless delivery across the university’s sprawling 500-acre campus, and marks the first arrival of Starship to a campus in the state of Oregon.

Boise State Dining Services has been working with card system vendor, CBORD, to implement the GET app and to update health policies surrounding campus food services. The efforts have seen the addition of the GET app to bolster contactless transactions for students and faculty.