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Fighting Food Insecurity

Here at Carolina, we work hard every day to ensure our Tar Heels are well fed and happy. As a food service provider, we recognize our duty to incorporate initiatives that increase and improve access to affordable, nutritious food on our campus, while also providing additional resources to food insecure students. We want to ensure that CDS is a resource for those who are facing food insecurity, and to be transparent about the current offerings.

We donate the following annually:

  • 500 Meal Swipes to Student Affairs. Student Affairs then distributes these meal swipes at their discretion to address student food insecurity.
  • Two (2) Meal Plans of 14 Meals per week, to Housing or Student Affairs to be assigned by semester to students at their discretion.
  • $10,000 to the Student Dining Board toward a food insecurity project(s) of their choice.
  • Up to ten (10) emergency meal plans for the Dean of Students Office.
  • Support the Carolina Cupboard, the campus food pantry, with biweekly produce donations, food donations from our Farm Stands, and additional donations when available.
  • Weekly donations of surplus prepared food to the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle which are then distributed to the local shelters to help feed the community.
  • Partner with the Food Recovery Network to assist with collection of surplus prepared foods from our retail restaurants.
  • Additional access to fresh produce on South Campus through our Farm Stands and Farmers Markets.
  • Produce and grocery items in Rams Market which are available for purchase separately or with a Plus Swipe.

Other campus resources include:

  • Carolina Cupboard: campus food pantry located below the Avery Residence Hall.
  • CJ’s Cupboard: campus food pantry located at 2220 McGavran-Greenberg Hall in the Gillings School of Public Health.
  • Edible Campus: Edible Campus manages a main garden behind Davis library and eight satellite gardens across campus which grow produce that is free to the public.

We are proud to support the Carolina community and if you have any additional questions regarding our efforts please contact us at 1.800.UNC.MEAL.