Retriever Essentials Fall 2025 Updates: Retrievers Give Back

Sat, 06 Dec 2025 14:37:09 -0500

Record donations and support from across the UMBC community: Retriever Essentials had an exciting semester and were able to support university community members in need.

Thanksgiving meal packing: Retriever Essentials partnered with Dining Services to package extra meals ahead of Thanksgiving on Nov. 24. Student, staff, and faculty volunteers came out to help and we packed 164 meals together! Combined with the lunchtime meal recovery we had 199 meals that day.

Food for Fines: UMBC Parking Services shattered their previous record of 388 lbs. and passed their goal of 500lbs, bringing this semester's Food for Fines total donation to about 880 lbs. of food and toiletries.

Save-a-Swipe Program

Thanks to generous UMBC community donations, the Save-a-Swipe program reached a record 1,050 meal swipes this fall. This partnership between Retriever Essentials, Retriever Card Center, and Dining Services enables community members to donate meal swipes to students facing food insecurity.

SNAP: Retriever Essentials partnered with mRelief to host a SNAP 101 info session during national Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. Staff updated the website to include up-to-date SNAP information and a free screener for individuals to see if they are eligible to receive benefits.

Read more in UMBC News.

Thanks as always to Retriever Essentials professional staff and student staff for their commitment and service!