Emergency Meal Card Program – On-Campus Use:
This community meal-sharing program helps elevate student food security by providing free meals at City Eats Dining Hall to SF State students facing barriers accessing enough food.
Update January 2023: We're sorry to change the process again! Due to high demand of meal cards, we are enforcing drop-in hours so we can ensure we have staff capacity. Starting Jan. 30, 2023, the spring semester hours to pick up a meal card are as follows:
- Monday-Thursday 11am-1pm, 4pm-5pm
- Fridays 11am-1pm, 3pm-4pm
- If you are not able to attend these hours, please email basicneeds@sfsu.edu to arrange an alternative appointment.
- This is thanks to a partnership with Sodexo, who donates 1600 meals to us every semester, so we can provide these meal cards.
- Meal cards are reserved for students who currently do not have adequate access to food.
- Students can receive a max of two cards per semester and additional cards, please fill out the Basic Needs Request Form and let us know why you're requesting more.
- Meal cards expire at the end of the semester
- Meal cards hold 10 meals and can only be used at City Eats on campus
- Students MUST pick up during drop-in hours, meal cards will not be provided outside of drop-in hours, unless you have an appointment
For information, email BasicNeeds@sfsu.edu.
The Meal Card Program is back in business for the Spring 2023 semester!
Due to high demand, we are only providing meal cards during drop-in hours:
- Monday-Thursday 11am-1pm, 4pm-5pm
- Fridays 11am-1pm, 3pm-4pm
- If you are not able to attend these hours, please email basicneeds@sfsu.edu to arrange an alternative appointment.
Students are allowed 2 meal cards per semester, no questions asked. For additional cards, please fill out the Basic Needs Request Form and let us know why you're requesting more.
Fill out this Basic Needs Request Form. And we will assess depending on level of need, financial circumstances, and other eligibility criteria.
Our primary criteria for evaluating requests for Grocery Cards are: if the student is facing an unexpected crisis, and if they are seeking support as a last resort resource.
Please note that Emergency Funds are technically considered financial aid and we are required to consider student Cost of Attendance and Estimated Family Contributions for the academic year. If there is no room in your financial aid budget, we do our best to find/make room, but not every student is qualified for Emergency Aid under these circumstances.
Our office address is on the footer of the website,
Village at Centennial Square (next to City Eats)
Health Promotion & Wellness Office
750 Font Blvd., Suite 5000
San Francisco, CA 94132