»The Panther Pantry

All currently enrolled students and employed faculty/staff may visit the Panther Pantry locations on the Orange and Rinker campuses once they've completed this registration form to request pantry access.  Pantry users may only visit during staffed operating hours.

REGULAR OPERATING HOURS

Orange Campus (Morlan Hall 172) Operating Hours for Summer (through August 15)

• Monday: 11am-2pm
• Tuesday: 3pm-6pm
• Wednesday: 11am-2pm
• Thursday: 3pm-6pm
• Friday-Sunday: Closed

Rinker Campus (Campus Center 126) Operating Hours for Summer Trimester

• Monday: 2pm-6pm
• Tuesday: 2pm-6pm
• Wednesday: 2pm-6pm
• Thursday: 2pm-6pm
• Friday: 11am-1:45pm
• Saturday: Closed
• Sunday: Closed

Pantry locations are closed on the following University holidays:

• May 26, 2025 - Memorial Day
• June 19, 2025 - Juneteenth
• July 3-4, 2025 - Independence Day

Yes, pantry users may visit both locations and may use either location for grocery and/or snack visits. For example, a pantry user might use the Orange location one week for a grocery visit and the Rinker location for the following week’s grocery visit.  Or, a user may use the Orange location weekly for grocery visits and the Rinker location daily for snack visits.

When you visit a Panther Pantry location, pantry staff will ask to see your Chapman ID card to pull up your profile in our pantry management system. Once pantry staff verify your registration has been approved, you’ll be invited to shop for a grocery or snack visit.  Once you’ve collected all of your items, pantry staff will check you out as though you were at a grocery store.  This will help us maintain our inventory in real-time and understand trends in most- and least-needed items, which will help us meet pantry users needs as best as possible.

For snack visits, users will be limited to single-serve items.

For grocery visits, certain limits on popular or limited items will be in place (for example, a pantry user may only take one carton of eggs per grocery visit) to distribute access to those items as evenly as possible among pantry users. There are no overall limits on the total quantity of food a user may take during a grocery visit.  We ask all users to take only what is needed for a week’s worth of groceries for their household.

If you’re in class, at work, or otherwise regularly unavailable during pantry operating hours and still need support addressing a current period of food insecurity, please email Miguel Calderon (mcalderon@chapman.edu) in the Dean of Students Office to discuss alternative means of support available on and off campus.

All pantry users are able to access the Panther Pantry as long as they are currently enrolled/employed at Chapman University on the Orange or Rinker campus.  Once your enrollment/employment ends, your access will expire.

Although inventory changes frequently, the Panther Pantry typically has an assortment of:

• grains (cereal, pastas, noodles, rice, bread)
• fruits and vegetables (canned and sometimes fresh options)
• soups (vegetarian options available)
• microwaveable meals
• milk (boxed and fresh)
• snacks
• hygiene products

While each pantry location is always stocked with a variety of foods, the specific items available at each location on any given day changes and evolves in relation to new donations, movement of existing inventory, and the frequency of pantry user visits.  If you have specific nutritional needs, please email Miguel Calderon (mcalderon@chapman.edu) in the Dean of Students Office to discuss alternative means of support for food insecurity.

On the Orange Campus, the Morlan Hall kitchen is available to all students living in university housing.  To access the kitchen, visit the Residential Support Desk in the Henley Hall basement (next to the fitness center) to check out a Morlan kitchen keycard.  Please note the kitchen is equipped with a stovetop, oven, microwave, and sink.

On the Rinker Campus, a food prep space is located adjacent to the pantry location in the Campus Center.  The food prep space is equipped with refrigerators, microwaves, and a sink.

The Panther Pantry is funded through a combination of institutional budget and donations both large and small.  In 2023, the Panther Pantry was endowed through the generous $1.5 million gift made by Irv and Nancy Chase and Allan and Sandy Fainbarg.  The Second Harvest Food Bank of OC also supplies the Panther Pantry with weekly deliveries of food and hygiene products.

To donate non-perishable food items or basic needs products, please bring your items to a pantry location during the operating hours listed above.  Food items can not be accepted if they do not display a printed expiration date.

To make a monetary donation to the Panther Pantry, please click here.

The Panther Pantry was launched on the Orange campus in 2013 by the Dean of Students Office in Student Affairs.  A group of dedicated Rinker campus faculty and staff volunteers launched and managed a second location in 2016 on our Rinker campus.  Student Affairs staff began managing both locations in 2023.