Frequently Asked Questions

The BNEF is intended to provide one-time, short-term emergency financial assistance in the following areas:

1. Rental Assistance

2. Food Assistance

3. Housing Security Deposit*

4. Other emergency and safety needs

*The Financial Aid and Scholarships Office will reach out to students who request support with a Housing Security Deposit to review their form submission and request additional information as part of an application to the

• Tuition and Fees

• Research and coursesupplies

• Relocating Costs (storage, moving trucks, gas)

• Cost of Insurance (home, auto, pet etc)

• Ongoing payments for utilities/ wifi/ phone

• Ongoing payments for medical bills

*If you are in need of funds immediately, you can access a Short-Term Emergency Loan through the Financial Aid & Scholarships Office

Financial assistance for up to one month of rent for students experiencing new/unexpected loss of income, safety needs (displacement, SVSH, other safety needs), or students unable to afford rent due to emergency circumstances.

Food assistance for students with short-term food needs that exceed what the Basic Needs Food Pantry can provide. Eligible students must be in the process of applying to CalFresh, have experienced a lapse in or termination of their CalFresh benefits, be ineligible for CalFresh, or have experienced other extenuating circumstances.

Fully or partially cover a housing security deposit to secure off-campus or on campus housing. Housing security deposits must be paid within the last 60 days or are due within 60 days of moving in.

*Note: Applicants will be required to submit a copy of their signed lease agreement. While there is no obligation to repay the award, the award is self-generation and the more students return to the fund the more we are able to assist other students that find themselves in similar situations.

One-time financial assistance to address immediate needs brought up by an emergency situation with considerations for emergency, safety, or assistive needs. Our team may reach out for clarification on needs to determine relevant resources but we will not provide in-depth support.

Any student who is food insecure, does not have enough food, or enough money to buy food during their time on campus is welcome to visit the Basic Needs Center Food Pantry up to once per week. Our free Pantry aims to serve any UC Berkeley student (including graduate, international students, visiting scholars, and postdocs) in need of immediate food assistance. 

All you need is your Cal ID or Cal ID # (if you don't have your physical card yet) and a bag for your food!

To avoid long physical lines, we have a virtual line via an online web application called Q-Less. The line opens during our open hours and you can join from anywhere on campus or in person at our check in table on the first floor of the MLK Student Union. It will close for 30 minutes during restock periods and when the line has filled up or reached capacity for that given open hour period.

You can find the Food Pantry hours, restock times, and link to our virtual line in the step by step instructions on the Food Pantry page.

The Basic Needs Food Pantry is only for students. However, we are currently collaborating with the the Staff Basic Needs Working Group to serve staff in need on our campus. Berkeley Staff Assembly will be hosting monthly food pantries for staff at Unit 3.

If you are in need of more food resources beyond the Food Pantry, we highly recommend that you fill out the Basic Needs Center Assistance Form and find out if you qualify for CalFresh. Additionally there are several nearby community resources where you can find additional food.

Our Food Pantry inventory comes from a few different places: 

• ACCFB (Alameda County Community Food Bank): Non Perishables, Produce, Eggs, and Frozen Proteins

• Berkeley Dining: Prepared Foods 

• Berkeley Food Network: Non Perishables, Produce

• Berkeley Student Farms: Fresh Produce 

• Daily Bread: Community volunteers we partner with to deliver donations from local businesses. We receive Baked Goods from local bakeries such as Boichik Bagels, La Farine, Fournee, Acme, Firebrand, Third Culture, and Semifreddi’s; Produce from Monterey Market; and Prepared Foods from Village Market.

• Daylight Foods: Produce, Eggs, and Tofu

• UNFI: Non Perishables and Frozen Produce

• Donations: Everything else!

• If you are interested in supporting our efforts, we highly recommend monetary instead of in-kind donations since we get great pricing through our distributors!

The Food Pantry is run by 100+ student and community volunteers, 10-15 College Corps interns, and about 15 paid student staff, with support from the full-time Food Resource Coordinator. 

At the start of every semester we onboard volunteers. Each spring semester we hold interviews for paid student staff positions! For more information, please visit our Volunteer & Job Opportunities page.

Any UC Berkeley student, staff, or community member can volunteer with us. Volunteers are recruited before the start of each semester and then onboarded during the first month. Each volunteer is asked to come to the Food Pantry for at least 1 hour per week. We require attending a mandatory volunteer orientation hosted at the start of the semester.

Please visit the Volunteer & Job Opportunities page for more details.

For students referred via BNC staff members, meals are available during BNC Open Hours (Monday through Friday from 1-4:30pm) in the BNC Welcome Center located on the 1st floor of the MLK Student Union (MLK 107), next to the Cal Student Store

Extra meals are given out at the Basic Needs Welcome Center space during open hours when available, but cannot be guaranteed since priority is for students who are referred by the BNC staff members or are a member of current GrabnGo partner program: Berkeley Hope Scholars, Underground Scholars, Undocumented Students, or Student Parents Center. We will be expanding this program over the next year to additional campus equity partner programs as our capacity grows.

The Basic Needs Center is partnering primarily with Berkeley Dining to pick up fresh food donations on a weekly basis from dining halls and on campus restaurants. We also receive fresh meal donations prepared by Just Fare, an Oakland-based office catering company.