Aztec Student Union, 2nd Floor Landing

The Associated Students Food Pantry provides free, nutritious food for all SDSU students and connects them with other basic-needs resources on campus.

Fresh produce and shelf-stable foods are always available. Snacks, eggs, and refrigerated & frozen foods are sometimes available. All the food at the A.S. Food Pantry is either purchased from the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank or donated by Aztec Shops.

Check out the Aztec Union Instagram story every Wednesday to see which fruits and vegetables are available!

Hours

• Monday: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

• Wednesday: 12 p.m. – 4 p.m.

• Thursday: 1 p.m. – 6 p.m.

ECRT Grocery Assistance

Students facing food insecurity and unable to purchase food may receive a one-time grocery card for a local store through ECRT. Students must submit a Request for Assistance form to meet with an ECRT staff member for an individualized assessment to determine eligibility.

CalFresh
CalFresh is a government program that can provide monthly food benefits to individuals and families through an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card. There are eligibility requirements, including income levels, but students may qualify if they have an EFC of 0, are eligible for Federal Work Study, or meet the standard eligibility criteria.

Water Bottle Reuse Program

Green Love, the Student Support Commission, and the Basic Needs Center are working on piloting a program to redistribute unclaimed reusable water bottles from campus lost-and-founds to students in need. These water bottles will be available for redistribution to students at the Basic Needs Center. Follow @asgreenlove and @sdsubasicneeds on Instagram for further updates.

C.H.E.F

The C.H.E.F. (Cooking Healthy Eating Fresh) cooking classes are a program under SDSU Well-being & Health Promotion and are free to all registered SDSU students. With the use of mobi, the mobile demonstration kitchen, the chef cooking classes teach students how to prepare delicious and affordable meals all on their own. With the busy student in mind, these classes provide essential food preparation and cooking skills, as well as grocery shopping and meal-prepping tips.

Second Course is a sustainability- and food justice-focused startup app available to SDSU students that notifies users about free, leftover food from campus events to reduce waste. It was co-founded by Daniel Self and Gavin Bartow as a part of the 2025 SDSU Social Venture Challenge. Second Course enables students to post or claim leftover food from a wide range of campus events using their app.

Why it works

• Convenient: real-time alerts, simple claim flow.

• Stigma-free: students claim food like event attendees.

• Ready-to-eat focus: fast redistribution within the event timeframe.

• Low lift: designed to require no repackaging for the pilot.

SDSU Bookstore, 5500 Campanile Dr, San Diego, CA 

BrightSide is committed to increasing access to affordable fresh produce on the SDSU campus through produce sales and donations. On the SDSU Campus, BrightSide Produce operates the BrightSide Produce Stand, located outside the SDSU Bookstore. The BrightSide Produce Stand offers fresh fruits and vegetables, including farm-fresh produce from our local partners, and is open to all students, faculty, staff, and community members. Visit us on Thursdays to “pay what you want” and help support our SDSU community.

The BrightSide Produce Stand provides the SDSU community a convenient on-campus option for fresh produce. It allows SDSU community members to access affordable fresh fruits and vegetables while supporting the delivery of produce to San Diego communities.

Hours

Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

CalFresh (federally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP) is a federally mandated, state-supervised, and county-operated government entitlement program that provides monthly food benefits to help low-income households purchase the food they need to maintain adequate nutrition. The amount of benefits you can receive is dependent on your family size, countable income, and monthly expenses such as housing, utilities, and so forth.

All U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident children may qualify for CalFresh benefits, regardless of where their parents were born. Parents may also qualify for benefits if all other program guidelines are met. Individuals with no children also may qualify.

The program issues monthly benefits that can be used to buy most foods at many markets and food stores. EBT is accepted at Trader Joe's, the Storm Hall Aztec market, and the Bell Pavilion Aztec Market starting in fall 2026. These benefits are issued on an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card, which looks like any other credit card. 

Qualifacations

There are certain eligibility requirements for students enrolling in CalFresh. Student parents and students with registered disabilities have separate eligibility criteria. Students on Flex 5 and lower meal plans may also qualify for CalFresh benefits in addition to their meal plan. Typically, students must remain under the income limit for their household, be a citizen or legal permanent resident, provide food for themselves, and meet one of the qualifying criteria, including:

• Work at least 20 hours per week

• TANF Funded Cal Grant A or B recipient

• Student worker on campus regardless of hours worked

• EOPOS Student

• Enrolled in a Local Program that Increases Employability (LPIE)