YuLin Zhen, Photography Editor

The Yale Hunger and Homelessness Action Project is hosting its YHHAP fast where students can donate a day’s worth of meal swipes. Students will be able to donate until Nov. 22, and the fast will be held on Saturday, Nov. 23, the day of the Yale-Harvard football game. 

First founded 50 years ago in response to the famine in Sudan, YHHAP is an umbrella organization for projects such as the Yale Community Kitchen. Every semester, YHHAP hosts a fast where students can donate their dining hall meal swipes to help nonprofits combating food and housing insecurity in New Haven.

“I really encourage all students to donate their meal swipes,” Jaeyee Jung ’27, a YHHAP board member and co-chair of the fall fast wrote. “The Fast will be held on November 23rd, the day of the away Harvard-Yale game, so there really is no cost to donating your meal swipes. If you’ll be on campus, you can use your guest swipes (or treat yourself — Sherkaan will be providing a 15% discount for students).”

Based on the number of people who sign up, Yale hospitality writes a check for the amount donated by students. Around half of the donation raised comes from faculty and alumni monetary donations, Vivian Whoriskey ’25, a YHHAP board member and co-chair of the fall fast, added. 

Last year, the fast raised $15,310.01 for Sunrise Café, Haven’s Harvest and Continuum Care. This year’s funds will go to Sunrise Café, Witness to Hunger, Amistad House and New Reach.

Whoriskey told the News that the YHHAP fast is a way for students to get involved in their community in a low-stakes way with tangible impacts. 

“I volunteered with the fast for the first time my sophomore year, and it was an incredibly fulfilling experience,” Whoriskey said. 

Whoriskey and Jung highlighted Yale’s negative impact on New Haven as undeniable — Yale is the biggest owner of property in New Haven and not paying anything in real-estate taxes is detrimental.

However, Whoriskey also noted broadly that the benefits of community service go both ways. 

“I wouldn’t frame service as a responsibility — I would see it as an opportunity. Being active in the New Haven community helps everyone involved.”

For New Haven stakeholders, the fast raises funds that are split between all of YHHAP’s partner organizations like Sunrise Cafe, which provides free breakfast on weekdays to hungry and homeless populations. 

For Yale students, the fast is an opportunity for Yale students to leave the ‘Yale bubble’ and impact the broader New Haven community. 

“We live in a city, not just a campus,” Whoriskey said.

Whoriskey and Jung told the News that after the recent election, YHHAP has seen an uptick in interest. 

For Seline Mesfin ’27, a member of YHHAP’s outreach team, the fast has been an opportunity to pursue a long held passion for community activism. 

“I think it’s absolutely insane that in the 21st century there are still individuals who are unhoused, unclothed and unfed, living day-to-day without the basic necessities needed to lead a fulfilling and successful life,” Mesfin said. 

Mesfin added that she is inspired by hearing the stories and voices of New Haven citizens who have been positively impacted by the fast. 

Some students who have donated their swipes also highlighted how easy donating was. 

“I think that the mission of the fast is incredibly noble and inspiring,” Andrey Sokolov ’27, who donated a meal swipe, said. “Not only that, the convenience of signing up — with the sign up button being incorporated into the Yub and the date of the fast being on a convenient day — made it a no-brainer for me to participate.”

Donations can be made through the Yale Hub website or through YHHAP’s venmo, @yhhap-yale, with “YHHAP Fast” in the description.

YHHAP was founded in 1974.