Food Resources at Tufts
Swipe It Forward!
Swipe It Forward program provides free dining hall meals to students who are having difficulty finding their next meal. Tufts Dining seeds the meal bank at the start of each semester, and students may donate meals from their meal plans throughout the semester.
Donate
- Any student with a meal plan can donate up to 10 meals per semester.
- Donations may take up to 14 business days to process. If your meal balance is low, donations may not be processed. Check your balance, visit the JumboCash website.
Request
- All students in the School of Arts and Sciences, the SMFA at Tufts, and the School of Engineering are eligible to receive meals.
- Students can receive up to 15 free meals per semester.
- A student's account balance must have fewer than 5 meals at the time of request.
- You do not need a meal plan to receive a meal.
- Requests for swipes are processed within 2 business days of a completed submission.
Free Food e-List
One way to provide access to food is to ensure that food we already have is not wasted. To that end, all members of the Tufts community are invited to use the Free Food e-List. When student organizations, large events, departments, offices, or others have events and there are meals remaining at the end of the event, they can send an email to freefoodattufts [at] elist.tufts.edu. Everyone who has signed up for the distribution list receives the invitation to come get the described food. An extra pizza at the end of a study session, bagels and coffee ordered for a staff meeting that was cancelled, or remaining meals following a large catered event are all of value to people in our community and can be offered with the Free Food e-List.
Please be aware that perishable food is not safe to eat if it has not been at proper temperatures for more than four hours. For most perishable foods, proper temperature is either below 40˚F (i.e., refrigerated) or above 140˚F (i.e., cooking). See information about food safety from the CDC. Given this, please send your email to the Free Food e-list as soon as possible to allow people to pick up and consume the food during the safe window of time.
Eligibility and Details
- The Free Food e-list started as a joint initiative of the Tufts Food Rescue Collaborative and the TCU Senate.
- The Free Food e-list is available to all members of the Tufts community – students, faculty, and staff. Free food offered is typically on the Medford/Somerville or Fenway campuses.
- Any amount of food and any type of food is acceptable to offer—from a few snacks to a large number of full-size meals.
- Event organizers are invited to offer their remaining food to members of the community either during their event or immediately after. Anyone (subscribed to the e-list or not) can send a message to freefoodattufts [at] elist.tufts.edu to offer free food. In your message, please include:
- Description of food available (or a photo)
- Location where people should come to get the food
- Please be respectful with this e-list and use it only for its intended purpose. If posting the list on a public website, please use techniques to prevent it from being scrapped. This helps prevent spam messages being sent to the list.
Sign Up for the Free Food e-List
Jumbos Community Fridge
Jumbos Community Fridge and pantry is available to students experiencing food insecurity. The fridge and pantry are located on the east side of Dewick-MacPhie Dining Center on Talbot Avenue and are accessible 24/7, year-round. Jumbos Community Fridge serves as a place for excess items to be shared, helping to reduce food waste on campus.
Follow Jumbos Community Fridge on Instagram
View the Community Fridge Guidelines
SMFA Food Pantries
The SMFA Community Food Pantry is located inside of the Dean’s Suite (230 Fenway, B203). Feel free to take what you need. The Pantry consists of food items such as rice, pasta, canned vegetables, fruit cups and granola bars. This is a community wide initiative, and we invite students to donate what they can. Non-expired, non-perishables will be accepted.
The Mission Hill Food Pantry is open to students experiencing food insecurity located on the second-floor student lounge of 160 Saint Alphonsus Street. The pantry is available 24/7 to SMFA graduate students and during building hours for all other students. Please consider dropping off some donations if you have excess food you’d like to share!
Grocery Store Shuttle
To make it easier to source food independently, Tufts offers free, dedicated shuttle service to a nearby grocery store once per week. Additional area grocery stores are accessible daily via the MBTA.
Grocery Store Shuttle Information
Food Emergency Fund for International Students
The International Center (I-Center) has a small pool of funding available to support the short-term food access for undergraduate and graduate students in the School of Arts and Sciences (including the SMFA) and the School of Engineering who are on an F- or J-student visa.
Meal Support During Academic Breaks
The dining centers close during Thanksgiving break and spring break, while the residence halls remain open. Students who rely on the dining centers for their daily food access, meet certain eligibility criteria, and are staying in the area during the break period will have supplemental funding provided to access food even though the dining centers are closed.
Break meal support is generally not provided during winter break because the residence halls close and students are generally not permitted to be on campus during winter break. Students who are required to be on campus during break for a university activity (e.g., students returning from break early from required training) often have meals provided by the department or program organizing the training. Students who receive exceptional housing on campus during winter break due will receive information about break food access from the Dean of Students Office.
Break meal support is not provided during summer sessions because the dining centers are open. Students living on or near campus during the summer should generally plan to use their summer income and our provided tips about shopping and cooking on a budget for meals. Students are also advised to contact Dean of Students Office for coaching and support as needed.
Eligibility and Details
Thanksgiving break and spring break meal support is open to any undergraduate or graduate student in the School of Arts and Sciences, the SMFA at Tufts, or the School of Engineering who:
- Has a meal plan during the semester the break occurs.
- Is awarded financial aid by Tufts with an annual expected family contribution of $10,000 or less.
- Is going to be on campus or in the local area during the break.
Students who meet the first 2 criteria will be contacted by the Dean of Students Office team via email about 2 weeks before the break begins. Students who meet those criteria and will be around campus during the break period complete a sign up and then receive a Meal Money credit. Meal money works like JumboCash or Rhino Bucks except that only food can be purchased (whereas JumboCash and Rhino Bucks also allow the purchase of certain other supplies, loads of laundry, etc.). Students use the Meal Money during the break at vendors that accept JumboCash or Rhino Bucks.
Contact Dean of Students Office
Meal Plans
Tufts Dining serves healthy, fresh, nutritious food daily, so having a meal plan is a great way to ensure consistent access to food. All undergraduate students have the cost of a premium meal plan included in their “total cost of attendance” and thus resulting financial aid packages. Interested students are encouraged to talk with their financial aid counselor about how to use their financial aid to maximize access to food. There are a range of meal plans to choose from. We encourage you to select one that will meet your food needs and preferences.
Tufts Dining also offers meal plans tailored to graduate students, faculty, and staff.
Schedule a Consultation with Your Financial Aid Counselor
Food Solutions Coalition
The Food Solutions Coalition is a group of students, faculty, and staff who are actively working to improve food access for students. You are welcome to reach out to any member of the coalition with suggestions, questions, and ideas.
2022-2023 Coalition Membership
Andrew Shiotani, Director, International Center
Andy Tiedemann, Senior Communications Strategist
Angela Foss, Director of Operations, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Angy Sosa, Associate Director of Residential Operations, Residential Life and Learning
Anulfo Baez, AG3, DEIJ Leadership
Arielle Galinsky, A24, Vice President of Tufts Community Union
Ayomide Oloyede, A25, First Generation College Student Community Senator, TCU
Bárbara Brizuela, Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Dean of Academic Affairs for Arts and Sciences, Professor of Education
Camille Minns, 2G, Environmental Policy & Planning
Emily Ding, Assistant Director of the Asian American Center
Erin Flood, Assistant Dean for Student Outreach and Support
Ian Wong, Director, Health Promotion and Prevention
Jay Ann Bernadette, M24, Health Promotion and Prevention Graduate Intern
Julian Agyeman, Professor, Interim Chair, and Fletcher Professor of Rhetoric and Debate, Urban & Environmental Policy & Planning
Kevin Kraft, Associate Dean of Students
Kim Ellwood, Program Coordinator, School of Engineering
Natasha Keces, 2G, Social Chair, Graduate Student Council
Nicolas Stewart, 2G, Environmental Policy & Planning
Patti Klos, Director, Tufts Dining
Pomai Yamaguchi, 2G, Student Life Chair, Graduate Student Council
Sarah Emmons, Assistant Director, Financial Aid
Stephen Green, Associate Director, SMFA
Vernon Miller, Director of the Indigenous Center