University of Houston Dining Services has partnered with Chartwells Higher Education, MATTER and General Mills Foodservice to engage students at UH and 99 other campuses and provide healthy snacks and nutrition education to fight food insecurity.

The Cheerios One Million Acts of Good campaign calls on people to spread kindness and fill the world with good. 

Chartwells Higher Education, together with MATTER, a Minnesota-based global nonprofit with a mission to move people forward by giving them a chance at a healthier life, and General Mills are encouraging students to improve the health of their communities with a turnkey process that promotes volunteerism.

Chartwells has grown its participation from 50 campuses in 2018, including UH, to 100 campuses in 2019 and will distribute over 20,000 MATTERbox packages. 

“The participation in this initiative is particularly important to us and our campus partners because this month we celebrate nutrition,” Chartwells Higher Education CEO Lisa McEuen said. “On a basic level, the healthful and nutritious food we serve fuels students and encourages learning to prepare them for the future. This volunteer program connects us all through compassion and kindness for a better community with our peers, campuses and communities.” 

On March 28, UH Dining packed 200 MATTERboxes with two snack packs, including General Mills items such as Whole Grain Cheerios and Nature Valley Bars, along with other healthy food items. Each snack pack includes nutrition information, as well as a YouMATTER hand-written note of encouragement, which allows those packing the boxes to share an inspirational message with the recipients. 

The volunteer event took place at Cougar Woods Dining Commons, where students, faculty and staff volunteered their time to make a difference in their community. Go online to see photos of the volunteers. Second Servings of Houston received the donated MATTERboxes to support its food insecurity programs.