Purpose
The CSU is committed to supporting students' basic needs and recognizes the disproportionate negative impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a remote environment, where students may be physically located away from their home campus, CSU campuses are committed to providing assistance to currently enrolled CSU students experiencing basic needs insecurity.
This systemwide initiative is grounded in the value of supporting the success of all CSU students. Working together, with the recognition of the impact of local context, CSU campuses will assist one another in supporting students where they are currently located by providing requisite supports to address their basic needs. This initiative will remain in place, dependent upon local campus resource availability, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and primarily remote/virtual instruction.
Community Resources
CSU campuses work in partnership with several community organizations to help meet students' basic needs. As such, and recognizing that not all students are currently located close to a CSU campus and may be located closer to community-based organizations that provide basic needs support, students are encouraged to visit
www.findhelp.org. This free website is a reliable, holistic, and user-friendly system designed to help individuals get connections to food, housing, transportation, and other resources.
CSU Campus Resources
All campuses offer assistance via phone and email to students who seek information on resources available in their local community, assistance with applying for CalFresh benefits, and referrals to a basic needs department at the CSU campus located closest to them. All campuses work with their on-campus housing department, as well as local motels/hotels to provide emergency, short-term housing assistance for students. The availability and duration of housing options varies by campus. Learn about the resources available at the campuses
here.
All 23 campuses are actively participating in the following services, subject to local availability and resource limitations:
- Emergency grants
- Emergency housing on and/or off campus
- CalFresh virtual application assistance
- Food pantry and/or food distribution program
- Referrals to local county CalFresh Office
- Referrals to local food pantries and/or food distribution centers
- Referrals to local community housing support
CSU Food Pantries and/or Food Distribution
The source of food and financial assistance available to CSU food pantries and its food distribution programs varies greatly. Many of the pantries are reliant on local food banks as well as donations from individuals and organizations. As such, each campus food pantry operates within its own community-based restrictions. In addition, county health department guidelines impact the general operating practices of the food pantry, including the frequency by which resources are distributed. Adhering to such guidelines is critical to decreasing the potential for community transmission of COVID-19. This variability will inform the resources that a campus is able to provide to both its home students as well as students from sibling CSU campuses. Regardless of their home campus, and dependent on the availability of resources, CSU students can access the following campus-based food pantries.
All CSU campuses provide support to students from sibling CSU campuses with access to food resources. Those with an asterisk (*) are utilizing referral to local community food pantries.
- Bakersfield
- Channel Islands
- Chico
- Dominguez Hills
- East Bay
- Fresno
- Fullerton*
- Humboldt
- Long Beach*
- Los Angeles*
- Maritime Academy*
- Monterey Bay*
- Northridge
- Pomona
- Sacramento
- San Bernardino
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- San Jose*
- San Luis Obispo
- San Marcos*
- Sonoma
- Stanislaus
Learn about the basic needs resources available at these campuses
here. This list will be continually updated as local circumstances evolve.