• Click/tap on the registration link in the menu section
• Complete all required fields
  • The Username can be anything, not necessarily your UNI
  • The User Email must be a Columbia-affiliate email address (UNI@columbia.edu, UNI@barnard.edu, UNI@utsnyc.edu). Please do not use aliases or personal email addresses

The United States Department of Agricultural (USDA) defines food insecurity as a reduction of quality, variety, or desirability of diet or eating pattern with reduced food intake.

As a college student, this definition can be further detailed in a number of ways:

• Skipping meals because of a lack of dining swipes
• Skipping meals because of a lack of money
• Taking containers to dining halls to take food back to a residence
• Contemplating whether to buy food or pay for other essential services such as rent, metrocards, or medicine
• Sleeping in public locations on or close to campus to save money on transportation costs
• Internalizing the effects of food insecurity out of shame or the stigma that plagues this issue
• Purposefully seeking out events that have catered or packaged food

The following are some examples of things that do not constituent food insecurity:

• Accessing resources as an alternative to traditional grocery stores
• Accessing resources because of a lack of time to go to traditional grocery stores
• Accessing resources as an alternative to dining services
• Accessing resources in order to stock up on food for a holiday break
• Accessing resources to share amongst roommates

While neither list is exhaustive, it is up to each individual to decide whether or not their respective circumstance constituents food insecurity.

As you can imagine, food insecurity is a hidden problem because many may experience it but few will talk about it. Our semesterly survey is part of a larger research project with an objective to help break the stigma of food insecurity. We ask that each of our recipients complete this survey only once per semester, and all of your responses will be held in strict confidence.

• Click on the Shop menu option
• Select the location where you would like to pick up your order
  • Lerner location: 5th floor Lerner Hall
  • Barnard location: 125 LeFrak Center, Barnard Hall
  • Medical Center location: 1st floor 50 Haven Avenue (currently not open)
• Select the food category or categories that best serves your dietary needs
• Select the food items that you want, up to the total credit allotment provided to you during the registration process
• Go to your Cart when ready to check out
• Ensure the shipping location is set for the location where your items are located
• Proceed to checkout when ready
• Select the pick-up date
• Click Place order when ready to submit

• The number of monthly credits a recipient receives is based on the number of people in the household who directly depend on the recipient for food, including the recipient themselves. Please note, roommates do not count as dependents. Credits are provided as such:
  • • One-person household: 100 credits per month
      • If you live by yourself, you will receive 100 credits per month to spend on food.
      • If you live with Columbia-affiliated student roommates, you will receive 100 credits per month to spend on food.
      • If you live with a non-Columbia individual who does not directly depend on you for food, you will receive 100 credits per month to spend on food.
    • Two-person household: 200 credits per month
      • If you live with a spouse or significant other who is directly dependent on you for food, you will receive 200 credits per month to spend on food.
    • Three-person or more household: 300 credits per month
      • If you live with two individuals who are directly dependent on you for food, you will receive 300 credits per month to spend on food.
• New recipients will get a pro-rated amount of credits for their first month, and a full amount of credits every month thereafter.
• While we will objectively weigh any requests to increase an individual recipient’s monthly credit total, priority will be given to households of three or more dependents and approval will be based on the recipient’s history of usage.
• Recipients can spend their credits however and whenever they want, but they will not be able to place orders once they exhaust their allotment of monthly credits.
• An email will be sent to recipients once an order is submitted detailing the remaining credit balance. Additionally, recipients can check their current credit balance from the My Account drop-down menu on the eCommerce site.
• Credits will reset on the first of the month, and will not rollover.
• Our current multiple order policy still applies. Recipients cannot place more than one order to be picked up during any one open hours day.

Orders are prepared ahead of time to minimize the amount of time needed for recipients to spend at the pantry locations. We only prepare orders for the next pick-up date to ensure we have enough space to store all the orders that need to be picked up.

We recently instituted a new 24-hour lead time for all orders to ensure that our volunteers could properly and safely manage the influx of orders while servicing those recipients who walked up to the pantry locations.

All orders for a particular open hours day must be placed by no later than 24 hours prior to the start of that open hours. For example, if you would like to pick up an order at our Lerner location on a Tuesday, your order needs to be submitted by no later than 3 p.m. on Monday afternoon. Any orders placed after that time will be processed and available for pick-up during the next available open hours day, which for the Lerner location would be Friday.

Absolutely. Orders can now be edited while in Processing status; however, please note that the existing order will be replaced with a new order and order number. Please do the following if there is ever a situation where you need to add an item to, or remove an item from, an order:

• • In the main menu section of the site, click on Previous Orders
  • Click Edit Order next to the order you would like to update; only orders in Processing state can be edited. The items from that order will be placed back into your cart, and you will be able to add additional items to the cart up to your account’s point allotment.
  • Once you are ready to check out, you will see a credit of points for the items that were in the original order and then the value of the points for the new items.
  • Once the order is submitted, the original order will be automatically cancelled and the new order will be submitted. This is the order that will be processed.

Absolutely! No new recipient will be denied service or turned away because of the recently-instituted lead time policy. If you walk up to one of our pantry locations and advise the volunteers that you are new, they will walk you through the registration process and prepare your order while you wait. This only applies to walk-up visits during our open hours. Please note that any subsequent orders would be subject to the 24-hour lead time policy.

While our locations only have the capacity to provide non-perishable food, and refrigerated and frozen food at our Barnard location, we work with Corbin Hill Food Project to offer subsidized vouchers to receive fresh-produce disbursements from their farmshare.

To request a voucher, head to our Shop and click on the Corbin Hill Farmshares icon. This will provide more information as to the specifics of this initiative.

Unfortunately, no. Each pantry location has its own inventory, which would make it difficult to ensure an accurate inventory count if we allowed orders to be processed in this way. If an order is submitted that has items from multiple pantry locations, that order will be placed on hold and the recipient will be contacted for clarification.

Unfortunately, no. Each pantry location has its own inventory, which would make it difficult to ensure an accurate inventory count if we allowed orders to be processed in this way. If an order is submitted that has items from one pantry location, but the pick-up date is for another location, that order will be updated reflecting the correct pantry location. You will receive an updated order confirmation detailing this change.

Unfortunately, no. Once the 24-hour lead time expires, the system will select the next-available pick-up date. If you edit an order after the 24-hour lead time, the new order will have the next-available pick-up date.

For example, if you place an order at 12:59 p.m. on Monday for our Lerner location, the order will be available for pick-up between 3 - 6 p.m. on Tuesday during open hours. If this order is edited at 8:56 p.m. on Monday evening, after the 24-hour lead time expires, the new order will be available for pick-up between 3 - 6 p.m. on Friday.

We hold all orders for two (2) open hours days before the order is cancelled. The exception is that orders placed to be picked up at our Barnard location must be picked up on the date requested.

Unfortunately, no. Our inventory changes on a regular basis, but our eCommerce site is kept up to date as much as possible. To this end, we do not allow orders to be changed once they are processed, nor do we allow recipients to pick items that are not in the original order.

Unfortunately, no. Each pantry location has its own inventory, which would make it difficult to ensure an accurate inventory count if we allowed orders to be processed in this way. If an order is submitted that has items from multiple pantry locations, that order will be placed on hold and the recipient will be contacted for clarification.

We recently instituted a new 24-hour lead time for all orders to ensure that our volunteers could properly and safely manage the influx of orders while servicing those recipients who walked up to the pantry locations.

All orders for a particular open hours day must be placed by no later than 24 hours prior to the start of that open hours. For example, if you would like to pick up an order at our Lerner location on a Tuesday, your order needs to be submitted by no later than 3 p.m. on Monday afternoon. Any orders placed after that time will be processed and available for pick-up during the next available open hours day, which for the Lerner location would be Friday.

The person who placed the order pick up the order must be the person who picks up the order. This is to not only ensure that you actually get your food, but also to prevent misuse of our services. All recipients must show their ID in order to pick up their order.

The only exception to this is if you are physically unable to, or not medically cleared to, access the buildings where our pantry locations are situated. In this event, please email The Food Pantry at Columbia prior to the time when this other person comes to pick up the disbursement and provide the following:

• Your name
• The name and UNI of the person who will pick up the order
• The reason for the request

We will respond and advise if this request is accepted. Please note that we will not release the order to another party without this information prior to their arrival.

We take care to ensure all items that we offer are safe to consume. To that end, the date stamped on any food or drink item, save for baby food and medicine, is not an expiration date. That date is provided by the manufacturer to indicate the date the item is freshest or should be sold by stores. The Food Pantry at Columbia follows USDA and FBNYC guidelines in relation to the extended dates for food and drinks.

If you would still like to replace an unopened item you received from The Food Pantry at Columbia, please contact us via email to coordinate the replacement.

We strive to maintain as accurate an inventory as possible; however, several factors play into whether an item is available. If an item is not available when your order is being processed, it will be removed from the order and our inventory will be adjusted to ensure a more accurate accounting. In addition, you will receive an email advising that the item is out of stock.

Unfortunately, no. Each pantry location has its own inventory, which would make it difficult to ensure an accurate inventory count if we allowed orders to be processed in this way. If an order is submitted that has items from one pantry location, but the pick-up date is for another location, that order will be updated reflecting the correct pantry location. You will receive an updated order confirmation detailing this change.

Unfortunately, if an order is not picked up within two (2) open hours days at our Lerner location and one (1) open hours day at our Barnard location, the order will be cancelled. The credits for that order will only be added back to your account if you previously contacted The Food Pantry at Columbia advising that you will not be able to pick up the order. If prior communication is provided, the credits will be added back to your account within 24 hours.

For safety and health concerns, as well as space constraints, orders to be picked up from our Barnard location must be picked up on the day requested or the order will be canceled. In order to get the credits for that order added back to your account, recipients must contact The Food Pantry at Columbia in advance to let us know that you will not be able to pick up the order. If we receive prior communication that you will not be able to pick up your order, your credits will be credited back to you within 24 hours.

Unfortunately, no. Once the 24-hour lead time expires, the system will select the next-available pick-up date. If you edit an order after the 24-hour lead time, the new order will have the next-available pick-up date.

For example, if you place an order at 12:59 p.m. on Monday for our Lerner location, the order will be available for pick-up between 3 - 6 p.m. on Tuesday during open hours. If this order is edited at 8:56 p.m. on Monday evening, after the 24-hour lead time expires, the new order will be available for pick-up between 3 - 6 p.m. on Friday.

• Click/tap on the Shop menu option
• Click/tap on the Corbin Hill Farmshares category
• Click/tap on the specific farmshare location. There is currently only one location, Riverside Farmshare at the Riverside Church, but more locations may be added in the future.
• Select the date(s) you would like to pick up a farmshare disbursement and add it to your cart

A farmshare is an initiative within a community-based organization (CBO) that offers fresh produce at low or no cost to those in need. The Food Pantry at Columbia is fortunate enough to work with Corbin Hill Food Project to offer subsidized vouchers good for up to two (2) fresh produce disbursements per week, on Tuesdays and/or Wednesdays.

Fresh produce disbursement are available every Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons at the Riverside Church, at 121st & Claremont. However, recipients must first request a voucher through our eCommerce site, and respond to the confirmation email in order to receive a fresh produce voucher.

Vouchers are emailed the weekend before the date you selected, but only if you responded to the confirmation email sent to you the weekend after you requested the voucher. We ask that you contact us by no later than the day before the date you selected in the event you do not receive your voucher so that we can properly investigate the situation. Unfortunately, we will no longer fulfill same-day replacement requests.

We completely understand that life happens. All we ask is that you contact us to let us know that you will no longer be able to make it to pick up the farmshare disbursement.

If we start to notice a pattern, or if there are three (3) instances within an academic year where you miss your disbursement pick-up date with no communication, unfortunately, we will no longer be able to provide you vouchers for this initiative. You will, however, still be able to receive non-perishable food from any of our pantry locations.

The Food Pantry at Columbia works with Corbin Hill Food Project to provide fresh produce disbursements to our recipients. We have no control over the type or amount of food that is placed in the fresh produce disbursements. We can make suggestions to Corbin Hill Food Project, but availability of certain products is dependent upon their inventory.

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, The Food Pantry at Columbia created the Disbursement Drop-off Initiative in May 2020 to better serve students in need. The final iteration of the Disbursement Drop-Off Initiative was only those recipients who were currently under State- or University-mandated quarantine, this did not include self-isolation.

The premise was simple: volunteers picked up pre-packaged disbursements and dropped them off to recipients in need in a secure and contactless process. This mitigated the health and safety risks of both the volunteer and the recipient. Ideally, volunteers were matched with recipients who were within relatively close proximity to their own homes.

The Disbursement Drop-Off Initiative was temporarily shuttered in November 2021 because of the colder months, with the expectation to resume it during the warmer Spring months, starting in April 2022. However, because of falling rates of infection and restrictive pandemic health policies within the University, it was decided that the Disbursement Drop-Off Initiative had run its course.

A recipient in need can still reach out to The Food Pantry at Columbia, if they need to quarantine and have no access to food, but this is on an as-needed basis rather than a specific organizational business model.