CSUN Food Pantry

Important Note: You must be enrolled in the current semester, to be able to register and book a pantry visit! The Pantry is only available to currently enrolled students, staff, and faculty.

• Register online through the CSUN PantrySoft kiosk https://app.pantrysoft.com/login/csun
  • Select “LOGIN AT CSUN” at the top of the page.
  • Complete the registration questions as prompted. 
  • Sign and submit the registration form.
  • You are now a PantrySoft registered user and can begin to schedule your pantry visits!

• Access the CSUN PantrySoft kiosk: https://app.pantrysoft.com/login/csun
• Select “LOGIN AT CSUN” at the top of the page.
• From the list of dates and times for the current week, select the slot that works best for your availability.
• Once finalized, you will receive a confirmation email of scheduled appointment

Each visit/appointment is for a 30-minute shopping window. Although you can arrive at your visit anytime during the 30-minute shopping window, we recommend that you allow yourself at least 10 minutes to shop and check-out.

• Students may schedule their visit starting the Saturday before the upcoming week.
  • Visits must be booked at least 12 hours in advance.
  • You may access the Food Pantry once a week. Visits do not roll over or stack.

• Please be on time for your appointment. We know that life happens, but please try to arrive as close to your scheduled appointment time as possible.
  • You will check in with a Food Pantry team member at a kiosk located inside the CSUN Food Pantry.
    1. Check in requires your CSUN ID
  • Once checked in, you will have up to 30 minutes from your arrival time, or appointment time to “shop.” We recommend a minimum of 10 minutes to complete your shopping experience.
  • At the time of check-in, you will be provided with your allotted number of points to shop; these are based on household size and have been pre-determined.
  • During your 30-minute shopping window, you may select a variety of items based on the Food Pantry’s point system. If you are unsure how many points you have, please ask a Food Pantry team member at a kiosk.
  • Please note, all items in the pantry will have a point value, including toiletries; these can be requested at the checkout kiosk.
  • To complete your shopping, once you have selected all your items, a Food Pantry team member will review your selected items to ensure that you have utilized your points for the week!
    1. Please note: You will only be able to take as many items as your allotted points allow.

The Food Pantry now uses a shopping model, and a weekly point system. Points are assigned to students based on household size. Please note,

• Points reset weekly (each week you will have a new set of point to shop)
• Points can be used to shop for a variety of items, including food and hygiene.
  • Please note: Unused points do not roll over to the following week.
  • Can only “purchase” as many food/hygiene items as your allotted points permit. (you must stay within the assigned points)

The weekly point system determines how many items you may select from each food category.

Example: You may receive 20 points, which can be used across any of the categories available at the Food Pantry. Categories include:

• Grains
• Proteins
• Vegetables
• Fruits
• Dairy
• Fresh Produce
• Ready-to-Eat / Quick-Cook Meals
• Breakfast Items
• Snacks
• Sauces & Seasonings / Miscellaneous Items
• Toiletries

Please note that some categories have weekly maximums.

For example: Within the grains category, you may use up to 2 points, which could be:

• One loaf of bread (2 points), or one large bag of rice (2 points), or one small bowl of rice (1 point) and one small bag of pasta (1 point)

Shelves, baskets, and refrigerators will have the value point for that item. Please pay close attention to this and any signage regarding allotment maximums, as limits may change. Please note that availability of any item may change depending on stock.

The CSUN Food Pantry is open to all CSUN students, staff, and faculty.

Visitors to the CSUN Food Pantry are NOT expected to show proof of need, however, will be expected to have registered in PantrySoft and have an appointment (see steps above). We also ask each visitor to bring proof of campus affiliation, such as a CSUN ID or your myCSUNprofile (found on the home page, below "Quick Links"). Please make sure to either bring your ID with you every time you visit the pantry or be able to access the CSUN homepage from a device's browser.

First time visitors are provided a reusable bag and are expected to bring the reusable bag back for subsequent visits.