The UC Berkeley Food Pantry: How College Students Are Fighting Food Insecurity On Campus

Lupe Rocha
Aug 9, 2017 · 4 min read

by Lupe Rocha

Maggie Anderson, a 4th year Linguistics major at UC Berkeley, enters Room#86 beneath the new MLK Student Union.

A volunteer from the UC Berkeley Food Pantry welcomes her with big smile: “Welcome! The food here is all free and you can pick 5 items per visit!”

In the noticeably cramped room, shelves are stacked with all different kinds of food: Pasta, bread, apple juice, sauce and so on. Vegetables and frozen pizzas fill the fridges.

Food in Food Pantry (first two from official website and the others shot by group members)

Maggie selects her five items, stacking them precariously on top of one another. She’s forgotten her complimentary bag at home. The volunteer jots down her choices and scans her campus ID. With a smile, Maggie exits the room and begins her trek home.

“I visit [the Food Pantry] twice a month,” says Maggie. “I really love it when they have chicken apple sausages. Their food is health conscientious, and a lot of it is vegan or vegetarian so it’s nice when they have meat.”


The UC Berkeley Food Pantry is an on-campus food source that is run by students and faculty alike. Their goal: fight food insecurity among college students with the help of local donations, sponsorships, and grants.

The first thing you see when you round the corner towards the pantry!

Taylor Harvey, Food Pantry Coordinator, said: “At the Food Pantry, we run entirely on a volunteer basis, so we don’t have any paid staff except for management. We also run almost entirely on donations.”

Partners include: the UC Berkeley Food Security Committee, Bank of the West, the Alameda County Food Bank, and Challah for Hunger.

“We aim to aleviate food insecurity, which is a result of having income issues or restricted access to food” said Harvey.

UC Berkeley Food Pantry Volunteers in their natural habitat (PC: Website)

There are a number of reasons why students may need to go to the UC Berkeley Food Pantry. For starters, some might not be able to afford quality food as a result of high textbook prices and expensive living situations. They might not have adequate transportation to get to and from grocery stores, or they simply don’t have enough funds to start.

In a study funded by the University of California Global Food Initiative, nearly 20% of students reported experiencing very low food security. These students were more likely to seek free food and purchase fast food than students who were more secure.

Students reported cost, preparation, and time as challenges to accessing food. Those who were food insecure were also more likely to have lower grades and to postpone their studies than food secure students. What’s more, food insecure students were more likely to buy cheaper food rather than healthier food.

“The UC Berkeley Food Pantry was established to provide emergency relief to help students continue on to successfully complete and obtain their degrees from the University of California. It is a part of the campuswide food security efforts” — official UC Berkeley Food Pantry website

When asked about her experience with Food Pantry, Anderson didn’t miss a beat: “It’s really positive. Otherwise I wouldn’t really have a lot of food to eat during school years honestly. Right now my fridge is basically empty except for the stuff I’ve got from the food pantry.”

One of three murals decorating the exterior of the Food Pantry
    Lupe Rocha

    Written by

    23. Bay Area. Visual Media and Environmental Design

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