UFunds Covid-19 Relief “The Graduate School has established a dedicated COVID-19 E-Gap Fund for graduate students with high demonstrated financial need to assist with emergent expenses related to this crisis.”
Regardless of location, one can apply through UFunds to receive financial support for many items, including food, from the Graduate School. The application takes ~10 minutes, and you should receive a response in 2-3 days. Funding is limited but is open through the semester. This is also how you should apply for the Meal Gap Program, which provides students with routine warm meals from Brown Dining Services.
A food pantry run by the Office of the Chaplains and Religious Life is available to anyone struggling with food insecurity. It is located on the 4th Floor of Page-Robinson building (across from Room 411).
The Graduate Student Council is piloting a pantry program located in the Graduate Student Lounge (GSL) starting in the summer of 2022 as another mechanism to address food insecurity among graduate students. Within the GSL, two cabinets across from the sink (cabinets 3 and 4) have been dedicated to the pantry contents and will remain unlocked and accessible to all graduate students 24/7.
Brown Market Shares For Spring 2022, the Graduate Student Council aims to continue our partnership with the Brown Market Shares Program and the Graduate School to assist students facing food insecurity. This program is need-based. If you are able to pay for a full-priced vegetable share directly through Market Shares, you are still more than welcome to sign up for a subsidized or full-cost fall produce share!
Brown Market Shares Program connects the Brown and neighboring communities with weekly shares of local, sustainably-grown food. This fall season, we are offering produce shares as well as additional shares of dairy, eggs, bread, mushrooms, coffee, and meat.
Paid Options:
Brown Meal Plan You can add a meal plan at any point in the semester, however canceling it will cost $50. The cheapest option is buying 35 meals for $976 (including $375 in ‘flex points’).
Faculty Club Membership is $60 for graduate students and meals are offered grab-and-go from the Stephen Robert Campus Center. You can buy family meals or individual meals to be billed at the end of the month. This is a more expensive option.
Project Hand Up This program helps working people and those who receive a monthly check to shop for groceries, toiletries, and over-the-counter medication. During COVID-19, they are doing curbside pick-up of 3 bags of prepacked groceries for $6 (1 bag of non perishable food, bread & pastry, 1 bag of fruits & veggies, & 1 bag of frozen, dairy & meat if they have it). Located in West Warwick, open 2:30-5:30pm on: Tuesdays for last names beginning with A-K, Wednesdays for 55 and older, and Thursdays for last names beginning with L-Z. Please visit their Facebook page for updates.
As of the summer of 2022, the Graduate Student Council (GSC) is piloting a pantry program as another mechanism to address food insecurity among graduate students.
The pantry is located in the Graduate Student Lounge (92 Thayer St.), in cabinets three and four which are to the right of the GSL entrance, and directly across from the sink. Please note that for both cabinets, to open the door on the left you must press a lever on the back of the door which is only accessible by opening the door on the right first.
A list of items that might be found in the pantry and where are shown below. Please note that the inventory and the pantry program as a whole is a work in progress and encourage anyone who has feedback regarding the offerings or accessibility to fill out this anonymous form which we have also included at the bottom of this page.
If you are interested in helping the GSC address food insecurity among graduate students, please reach out to the Chair of Student Life: GSC_StudentLife@brown.edu
Food
Item
Cabinet
Shelf
Beef Ramen
3
Top
Chicken Ramen
3
Top
Raisins
3
Top
Chicken Bullion
3
Top
Peanut Butter
3
Top
Luncheon Meat
3
Top
Vienna Sausages
3
Top
Tuna
3
Top
Chicken Breast
3
Top
Rice (Jasmine & Basmati)
3
Top
Beef Jerky
3
Middle
Mashed Potatoes (Powdered)
3
Middle
Chicken Noodle Soup
3
Middle
Mixed Fruit Cups
3
Middle
Applesauce
3
Middle
Corn
3
Middle
Sliced Carrots
3
Middle
Mixed Vegetables
3
Middle
Spinach
3
Middle
Green Beans
3
Middle
Sweet Peas
3
Middle
Chili with Beans
3
Middle
Beans (Baked & Black)
3
Middle
Fruit Snacks
4
Top
Velveeta Shells and Cheese
4
Middle
Pasta (Spaghetti, Penne, Bowtie)
4
Middle
Pasta Sauces
4
Bottom
Supplies
Item
Cabinet
Shelf
Tampons (Regular & Super)
4
Top
Ibuprofen
4
Top
Acetaminophen
4
Top
Maxi Pads (Size 2 & 4)
4
Top
Bandages
4
Top
Condoms
4
Top
If any items have run out or if you have suggestions on what else we could stock, please fill out this anonymous Google Form:
For Fall 2021, the Graduate Student Council has partnered with the Brown Market Shares Program and the Graduate School to assist students facing food insecurity. Brown Market Shares Program connects the Brown and neighboring communities with weekly shares of local, sustainably-grown food.
Due to limited availability of Market Shares, this fall season we are offering produce shares for students facing financial difficulty, that have difficulty obtaining weekly produce for their household, or have any level of food insecurity. All eligible students are encouraged to apply.
The Fall Market Share will run for 10 weeks from September 30th – December 9th (excluding the week of Thanksgiving, November 25th). Distribution will take place every Thursday on College Hill at the Brown/RISD Hillel (80 Brown St.) from 12 – 6pm.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to gsc@brown.edu. Your information will be confidential and only be given to Brown Market Shares Program to confirm your identity when picking up produce.
