April Lopez, who plays a pivotal role in SUNY Oswego’s Student Helping Oz (SHOP), recently added a national role with Swipe Out Hunger’s Leadership Council. 

These positions give her the ability to advocate for students' voices in shaping solutions to food insecurity to ensure meaningful change. Whether supporting student well-being on campus or nationwide, the mission is very personal for Lopez. 

Growing up in a low-income farmworker family in Washington State, she faced the challenges of being a first-generation college student. It was not until her senior year that she realized she had been experiencing food insecurity — an issue affecting students nationwide.     

Her journey with food advocacy began with AmeriCorps, where she worked in a program to repurpose surplus food for those in need. When the pandemic disrupted this service, Lopez took action by organizing food for relief efforts through churches and schools. 

Now, at SUNY Oswego as an assistant dean of students/basic care needs manager, Lopez plays a key role in SHOP activities. SHOP provides free food, toiletries, reproductive health products, and professional and winter apparel to students, faculty and staff. In addition to the main campus located in the basement of Penfield Library, SHOP recently opened a space in SUNY Oswego’s Syracuse Campus. Both provide walk-in, confidential service with no appointment needed. 

Lopez believes access to basic needs shouldn’t be a barrier to education. She works to keep SHOP visible and accessible, emphasizing that students deserve support without stigma. 

As a member of Swipe Out Hunger’s Leadership Council, Lopez collaborates with professionals across the country to fight student hunger. She believes students should have a voice in shaping solutions and encourages direct advocacy with university leadership. 

“You pay tuition, you have a voice,” she reminds students. 

She also stresses the importance of cultural perceptions around food insecurity. While data highlight the scale of the issue, Lopez argues that personal stories bring the problem to life and help reduce stigma.

As she reflects on her journey, she offers a mantra that inspires her work: “You don’t know what you don’t know.” She finds this reminder vital toward being open to others’ experiences.

She sees spaces like the Leadership Council as key to helping move forward, noting: “By collaborating, we find solutions we would never have discovered alone.” 

Lopez remains committed to expanding support for food-insecure students. She actively advocates for increasing resources and contributions to sustain programs like SHOP. Through collaboration, awareness and action, she is confident that real change is possible.

Her work at SUNY Oswego and Swipe Out Hunger reflect her unwavering belief that when students, institutions and communities come together, they can end student hunger — one meal at a time. 

SHOP Oswego's shop location in the basement of Penfield Library is open Mondays through Thursdays from 1 to 4 p.m. and Fridays from 1 to 5 p.m. 

For the new Syracuse Campus SHOP location, hours are 3 to 8 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays.

For more information, visit the SHOP website.

 -- Written by Keila Aquino-Lobato of the Class of 2025