The Food Pantry is located on the BCIT Burnaby Campus in SE2 room 258.

Any BCIT Student who is in immediate need of food support may access the Food Pantry. The Food Pantry is a low-barrier program that relies on the self-identified needs of students. If you feel that this program would help you, you are encouraged and welcome to visit.

Students will be asked to show their BCIT Student ID for confirmation of their eligibility.

The Food Pantry caters to BCIT students facing emergent food needs, offering timely access to healthy and nutritious food. Students can benefit from free groceries once per week. The pantry moved to a bigger space in January 2024 and revamped its operations to a counter-model service.

While there may be limits imposed for certain products to ensure there is enough to go around, we suggest following the motto: “take only what you need and will consume”. Please remember that this pantry is offered to all students, and we encourage everyone to share these resources.

Students who primarily learn online or at one of BCIT’s Speciality Campuses may speak with a member of the Wellness and Advocacy team about options for emergency food support.

These 15-minute appointments can be booked here.

Our goal is to ensure the pantry is accessible for students with disabilities. To request accommodations, please reach out to wellness@bcitsa.ca or scan the QR code located in the pantry. This code will redirect you to a form through which the Wellness & Advocacy Team can coordinate accommodating solutions for your access to the pantry.

We do our best to stock the pantry with healthy, nutritious, and culturally relevant shelf-stable and fresh food. Because our food is primarily provided through donations, we cannot guarantee that one type of food will always be stocked. Students can expect to find a variety of grains, canned goods, beverages, snacks, and fresh produce, in addition to personal hygiene items, such as toothbrushes/toothpaste, soap, menstrual products, deodorant, etc. Students are welcome to make recommendations and we will take them under consideration when making our selections.

Food passed the printed best before date is still safe to eat. Food Pantry Staff and Volunteers inspect all food products to ensure that food distributed in the Food Pantry meets &/or exceeds established safety and quality standards set forth in the Best Before Guidelines created by Food Banks Canada. We always encourage visual inspection; however, when in doubt, do not consume the food.

While the Food Pantry may only be accessed by current BCIT students, the Community Fridge program is open to all members of the BCIT community, including staff and faculty. The fridge is located on the Burnaby Campus in SE2-2^nd floor next to the elevator. Please refer to the guidelines posted on the fridge or the website.

Yes, absolutely! Those interested in volunteering their time, either regularly or on a casual basis, may complete this form. Intakes are typically done once per term, however, depending on need, there may be ongoing intakes.