According to a survey conducted in 2018, 44% of UC Davis students experienced some form of food insecurity. While there are a variety of resources to help students get free food or food assistance at UC Davis, not all of them are well known. Most students know about the ASUCD Pantry, which offers free food to any UC Davis student at their location in the Memorial Union, but there are also a variety of other resources available to students in need of food assistance.
This program was created through a partnership between Aggie Compass Basic Needs Center and UC Davis Student Housing and Dining Services. On the program application, you describe your current financial situation and need, and will later be contacted to receive more information. If your application is approved, you can be given free meal swipes to get food at the dining commons on campus. If you currently do not have access to a space to prepare food, this is a good emergency option to be able to get meals.
2. CalFresh Enrollment Assistance at the Aggie Compass Basic Needs Center
The Aggie Compass Basic Needs Center is dedicated to helping UCD students who need help getting food, housing, financial assistance, or mental health support. The CalFresh Assistance Team at Aggie Compass helps students with the CalFresh enrollment process. CalFresh (also known as SNAP or EBT) is a government program that provides low-income people with monthly financial assistance to help pay for food expenses. Applying for this assistance involves submitting an online application and supporting documents, and participating in an interview with your county office. This process can be confusing and can take a few months to get approved, so it is important to meet with the team at Aggie Compass if you want to apply for CalFresh. To schedule an appointment, visit the center in the East Wing of the Memorial Union on Mondays through Fridays between 9 am and 5 pm, or call (530) 752-9254.
The Food Access Map was created with funding through Health UC Davis, and it outlines food-related resources throughout Davis. The map was created using Google Maps, and shows where students can access free food, different locations that accept CalFresh/EBT, where food trucks and vending machines are located, where there are microwaves on campus for public use, and more. By making the map full-screen, you can select specific categories to narrow down the resources displayed on the map, and you can click on each icon on the map to learn more about the location’s services, hours, and a link to their website.
There are a variety of food resources available to students in Davis, both through the UCD campus and throughout Davis. For these programs and services to continue, they must demonstrate that there is a need in the community. This is typically done by showing how many people use the services and programs. Sometimes people in need of assistance avoid accessing free food resources because they think that they might be “taking away” food resources from someone who may be in a worse situation. However, if you are having a hard time accessing enough food, using local resources helps show the need for the program, and can help expand the availability of food resources in the future.