The Food for Thought Pantry is made possible through a collaboration with our community partner Good in the ‘Hood. The pantry is open to all Metro State students and their families to access food and resources.
The pantry operates on a food choice model and students can choose their own food items. The pantry has a variety of options including rice, beans, canned foods, frozen meats, and other items.
Food pantry hours
The Food For Thought Food Pantry's spring 2024 semester hours are below.
Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
No appointment necessary! Students are welcome to drop-in anytime the pantry is open.
Students that are unable to drop in the pantry during the hours of operation can reach out to student.parentcenter@metrostate.edu for additional food resources.
Food pantry intake form
We ask that students complete an intake form to utilize the food pantry. If you have not yet completed an intake form, please do so here: Food For Thought Intake Form
Students can also complete a paper intake form at when they visit the food pantry.
Free meals
We have also teamed up with MN Central Kitchen to offer free meals for Metro State University students.
The meals are made by local restaurants and then provided to the Food for Thought Pantry. The meals come in single serving microwavable take-out trays and will need to be heated before consumption. Students will be able to take up to 3 or more meals per day. The meals will vary from week to week and will include one meat option and one vegetarian option.
Students can pick up free meals at the Food Pantry during operating hours. Students can also pick up meals in the follow offices on campus:
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Veterans Center (Founders Hall, 2nd Floor)
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Dean of Students Office (Founders Hall, 2nd Floor)
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TRIO Office (Founders Hall, Lower Level)
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Admissions (Founders Hall, 1st Floor)
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Gateway (Founders Hall, 1st Floor)
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
The Minnesota Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides supplemental income for purchasing food for low-income households. An eligible person or family receives an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card, which is used like any other debit card at the grocery store. The card uses money from a SNAP account set up for the eligible person or family to pay for food items.
Students ages 18–49, attending an institution of higher education like a college, university, trade school, or technical school more than half-time are eligible for SNAP if they meet an exemption and meet all other SNAP eligibility requirements.
As of January 16, 2021, a student may be eligible if they meet one of the qualifications:
1) They are eligible to participate in state or federally financed work study during the regular school year. You school determines if you are eligible for work study
or
2.) They have an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) of 0 in the current academic year (based on the FASFA- Free Application for Federal Student Aid).
Students who are interested in getting help with apply for SNAP benefits can email student.parentcenter@metrostate.edu. A staff member will respond and help you get connected to the appropriate resources.
Additional resources
To locate additional food resources in your community visit Hunger Solutions.
We have created a running document of helpful resources that include information for food, housing, emergency assistance, utilities, etc. This document can be accessed here.
Students can also connect with a staff member to provide additional basic needs support by emailing student.parentcenter@metrostate.edu.
Grievance policy
Our civil rights goal is to treat everyone with fairness and equality while receiving food at the food shelf. Discrimination is prohibited on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, sex, and disability in special nutrition programs funded by the USDA's Food and Nutrition Service.
This commitment is separate from both the university's student complaints and grievance policy (#3030) and the grievance policy of our partner, Good in the ’Hood. The purpose of this commitment is to provide a fair, effective, and efficient mechanism that solves any conflict at the food pantry. A clear and comprehensive effort will be applied in order to solve the issue.
The following guidelines will help the staff or volunteer to handle the situation as calmly as possible and collect the following data:
- the reason for the complaint
- the name of the complainant
- the name of the staff involved
- the name of the person to whom the complaint is made
- the date and time of the incident
- person(s) involved during the complaint