UC regents hear annual basic-needs report as campuses expand CalFresh, food and housing pilots

The University of California Board of Regents on Wednesday received an annual report on student basic needs that said UC basic-needs centers served more than 70,000 unique students in 2023–24 and described campus programs and state partnerships intended to expand access to food and housing supports.

Provost Scott Newman introduced the report, saying, “I am pleased to introduce this annual report on basic needs.” The presentation said UC permanently funds basic-needs centers on every campus and that system efforts range from campus food pantries to expanded CalFresh enrollment and housing subsidies.

The report provided systemwide figures and program examples. Jeannie Kim, director of student mental health and well-being, summarized survey results, saying that undergraduate food-security rates “have rebounded to pre-pandemic levels in 2024 at 48%” and that undergraduate housing insecurity “has reduced to 2020 levels at 7%.” Kim said those figures come from the biannual undergraduate and graduate student experience surveys (the undergraduate survey was last administered in 2024; the graduate survey in 2023) and that the measures are not directly comparable to other data sets shown, but illustrate trends.

UC officials emphasized that the rebound in measured food insecurity likely reflects the end of pandemic-era emergency supports and broader economic pressures. The presentation said UC expanded access to electronic benefits transfer (EBT), including CalFresh, across all 10 campuses by negotiating a systemwide multi–store-owner contract with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and by working with county partners to streamline enrollment.

UC Davis vice chancellor Pablo Reguarin described Aggie Fresh, a campus program that provides a monthly payment through a campus card to students who are food insecure but ineligible for CalFresh. Reguarin said Aggie Fresh provides $292 per month to qualifying students and that last academic year the program distributed $277,000, with evaluation data indicating reductions in very-low food-security outcomes. He also described Aggie Eats, a pay-what-you-can food truck that served just over 94,000 meals to more than 30,000 students last year; the truck was purchased with a philanthropic gift and its operating costs are transitioning to campus funding plus ongoing philanthropy.

Reguarin also described a needs-based rent-subsidy program that offered subsidies of about $100–$300 per month and that the campus prioritized funds for extremely low-income students; he said the program paid close to $800,000 last year.

Patty Mahaffey, assistant vice chancellor for student life at UC San Diego, said UCSD used a $100 million state housing grant and other campus actions to expand housing and lower costs for low-income students. She said the campus allocated $5 million annually to reduce monthly housing payments for 1,100 low-income California residents to about $832 per month. Mahaffey said UCSD’s CalFresh outreach connected approximately 2,200 students last year, which she estimated equates to roughly $7.6 million a year in grocery purchasing power.

Speakers stressed partnerships with county human services and state agencies, behavioral health initiatives and the need for data to guide interventions. Newman and Kim highlighted UC participation in the Children Youth Behavioral Health Initiative and system research projects and pilots intended to measure the impact of basic-needs services on student success.

Regents asked about scalability and equity across campuses. Regent Hernandez asked how other campuses could replicate UCSD and UC Davis successes; speakers said campuses are piloting modest versions of programs (for example, a version of Aggie Fresh without a food truck) and that basic-needs directors meet monthly to share promising practices. Officials noted that space and operational capacity (for refrigeration, storage and food production) are common constraints as program scale increases.

The meeting was briefly recessed after a disruption during the presentation; UC regents resumed and continued the discussion.

Votes at a glance: the open session also recorded roll-call approvals of multiple committee reports and an action item on system personnel. The meeting transcript shows roll-call votes approving the finance committee report, governance committee items (g2–g3 and g4–g7), joint Health Services/Governance items and the joint action establishing two new senior management group positions at UCSF Health (chief strategy and transformation officer, San Francisco campus, and deputy chief financial officer, UCSF Health). Those items were approved by roll call during the open session (transcript records individual “aye” and some “abstain” responses).