NYU Student Jonathan Chin Recognized for Leadership in Fighting Hunger on Campus
Stop Hunger Now and the North Carolina State University Center for Student Leadership, Ethics and Public Service have named Jonathan Chin, a student at New York University, as the 2017 President William Jefferson Clinton Hunger Leadership Award recipient. The award will be presented at the Universities Fighting World Hunger Summit March 24-25 at Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio.
Each year, students across the globe with a passion to end hunger are invited to apply for the award, named in honor of President Bill Clinton for his commitment to humanitarian causes, including the eradication of hunger. The award was first presented by President Clinton in 2009. Since then, the N.C. State Center for Student Leadership, Ethics & Public Service (CSLEPS) and Stop Hunger Now, a non-profit hunger relief organization, have presented the award to students from colleges or universities around the world.
“For many people, college is really the last time that they’re asked to think critically. If we can catch them at this crucial juncture and show them that being responsible for the people around them is powerful and fulfilling, then when they go out to become the leaders of tomorrow, they’ll have that compassion with them,” said Chin.
When Chin discovered that many of his fellow students at New York University (NYU) did not have enough to eat, he used his coding skills to design a web platform connecting hungry students to those who had extra swipes available on their meal cards. His platform was the launching pad for his organization and subsequent mobile app, Share Meals.
Chin’s next step was to conduct a study to find out how many students on campus were food insecure, as well as to determine how much food was being wasted in the form of expired meal card swipes. He found that 18.8% of students surveyed did not have enough to eat, while 523 students surveyed left $438,910.30 unused on their meal plans.
Through collaboration with various university departments and students, Chin has dedicated himself to fighting hunger at NYU. In addition to the creation of Share Meals, he has played a lead role on a committee that is working to establish food pantries on campus. Chin has led cooking classes at NYU, teaching students how to create nutritious, affordable meals. He recently delivered a TEDx Talk at the University of Missouri, and his efforts have been featured in the New York Times. The Share Meals app was the winner of NYU’s 2016 Global Hackathon.
Chin has advised students, faculty and staff from universities across the U.S. and the UK on how to implement programs to combat hunger on their own campuses. He hopes to expand Share Meals to other universities.
Previous Clinton Award winners are: Balanding Mennah, Arizona State University (2016); Maria Rose Belding, American University (2015); Azeem Ahmed, Auburn University (2014); Brendan Rice, University of Alabama (2013); Ryan O’Donnell, NC State (2012); Gavin Armstrong, University of Guelph (2011); Sarah Nam, Harvard (2010); and John Coggin, NC State University (2009)
About Stop Hunger Now
Stop Hunger Now works to end hunger by providing food and life-changing aid to the world’s most vulnerable people, and by creating a global commitment to mobilize the necessary resources. Based in Raleigh, NC, Stop Hunger Now operates meal packaging programs in 20 U.S. cities and in six international locations.