NEW BRUNSWICK - When four first-year students launched a research project to tackle a social issue on campus in 2022, they were shocked to learn that nearly a third of Rutgers-New Brunswick students were identified as food insecure in a basic needs study.

“We were very surprised because we didn’t expect that type of number,” says Thirth Patel, a genetics major. “Imagine a third of your class of students not having access to food.”

They quickly came up with a solution to the problem – a hotline students could call to have meals delivered to them from the Rutgers Food Pantry. The goal was to provide food to students who couldn’t visit the pantry when it was open or who didn’t use it because they felt stigmatized.

Last fall, the hotline’s founders set up a texting service and began deliver

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