June 12, 2017

 

Five students receive Denny’s Hungry for Education scholarships

The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) has announced five students who will receive a Denny’s Hungry for Education scholarship. The students from HACU member institutions in California, Florida, Nevada, Puerto Rico and Texas were selected on the basis applications that included essays on how Denny’s could impact childhood hunger in the United States. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, 15.8 million children younger than 18 in the United States live in households where they are unable to consistently access nutritious food.

Emmanuel Guadarrama proposed environmentally friendly vegetable and fruit parks using volunteer groups such as community service organization from colleges, universities and public K-12 schools to provide the work force. Guadarrama attends Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. 

Adrian Hermosillo suggested a discount during summer months for students that qualify for free lunch programs (accompanied by parents) at local Denny's restaurants and campaigns where guests can donate to childhood hunger programs or buy a meal program for students and families identified through specific non-profits in their communities. Hermosillo attends Crafton Hills College. 

Savannah Quintero said that increasing awareness among college students and encouraging direct action among her peer group would be one of the most effective ways of affecting hunger in her local community. Quintero attends College of Southern Nevada,  

Miannette Suarez recommended that Denny’s donate food on specific days of the month to create a “special meal” at affordable prices for low income families; support local charities leading food drives; offer customers the opportunity to leave a paid product for a person in need, with Denny’s matching the customer donation; and create a fund where a customer rounds up their bill to the next dollar amount, with the difference added to the food fund. Suarez attends Pontificia Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico. 

Teresa Trejo suggested that Denny's encourage students to volunteer to pack food items and credit them with volunteer hours for any service-learning components of their education, using social media to recruit them; and that Denny’s provide a tamper-proof container on each table for donations to fight childhood hunger. Trejo attends Nova Southeastern University. 

The Denny’s Hungry for Education scholarship is part of the 2016-17 HACU Scholarship Program. 

Photo: (top to bottom) Emmanuel Guadarrama, Adrian Hermosillo, Savannah Quintero, Miannette Suarez, and Teresa Trejo.