Cal Poly Basic Needs opened up applications for meal vouchers Monday, an annual process to provide free on-campus food to students with financial need.
Applications close this Friday, Sept. 25 at 5 p.m. Students must be enrolled in at least 12 units, demonstrate financial hardship or food insecurity and cannot currently have a campus dining meal plan. Basic Needs will let applicants know if they will receive vouchers within two to three weeks of Friday’s deadline.
Once awarded the vouchers, students access the dining dollars by using their PolyCards.
Basic Needs most frequently awards meal vouchers to students with preexisting financial aid packages. Cal Poly Partners and the Mustang Meal Share program fund the program through donations.
The application asks students for basic identifying information and permission to access their financial information through Cal Poly to assess eligibility. The form doesn’t require students to input any financial information.
Meal vouchers roll over from quarter to quarter but don’t transfer between years, and students can use them at most on campus dining locations.
Staff will answer any questions about the program emailed to mealvoucher@calpoly.edu. Undocumented students who didn’t apply through the California Dream Act can contact Basic Needs Coordinator Maritza Perez through email at mpere148@calpoly.edu.
Here are the locations that take vouchers:
1901 Kitchen, Balance, Brunch, Campus Market: Grill, Campus Market: BBQ, Chick-fil-A, Einstein’s, Grand Ave Market, Health Shack, Hearth, Jamba Juice, Mingle & Nosh, Mustang Eats, Noodles, Panda Express, Picos, Poly Deli, Pom & Honey, Red Radish, Shake Smart, Streats, Subway, Sweet Bar, Taco Bell, UU Market, VG Express, Village Market.