Students sitting on lawn.

Basic Needs Support

Meeting students' essential needs.

UVA students thrive when they can cover the basics. The Basic Needs Support Fund gives lasting, reliable funding to help students access food, cover emergencies, and build financial stability, and your gift keeps that support steady. 

Give to this Fund
Care and support services office

Foundation for success

A real and growing need at UVA.

Around 40% of incoming UVA students report concern about food access before they even arrive on Grounds. Nationally and on Grounds, basic needs insecurity has grown, driven by the rising cost of attendance, shifts in financial aid, and the wider range of backgrounds students bring with them.

Meeting these needs protects student health and keeps students on track to graduate. At UVA, that work runs through Care and Support Services within the Department of Student Health and Wellness. Bringing food access, emergency aid, and case management together in one central location has helped the team keep pace as demand climbs, and the Basic Needs Endowment is built to keep that support steady for the long term.

Amazing! Cried first time I visited from how relieving it was to have actual food. The food pantry has been so incredibly helpful. The food pantry has cut down my grocery shopping time and cost so much and I'm so grateful
Undergraduate Student · Cavalier Food Pantry
Cavalier food pantry

Care in action 

Support students can count on.

The programs behind this fund are already at work every week. The Cavalier Food Pantry offers food and hygiene items to any UVA student at two locations, one inside Student Health and Wellness and one in Newcomb Hall. Hoo Needs Help provides emergency grants of up to $2,500 a year for unexpected costs like rent, medical bills, transportation, and technology, reaching students other aid often leaves out.

The team keeps finding new ways to help. The Cavalier Basic Needs Meal Swipe Program, launched with UVA Dine in February 2026, has already gathered more than 7,000 donated meal swipes and passed over 500 to students in need in its first six months.

The past year, in numbers
24,306
visits to the food pantry
$102K
in emergency grants
7,223
meal swipes donated

Sustaining access 

Cavalier Food Pantry

The Cavalier Food Pantry runs entirely on donations, with staff restocking several times a week from bulk retailers, local cultural markets, and food banks. A $3 million endowment would keep both locations stocked and running for the long term, with support extending to:

  • Student employment that keeps the pantry and counseling programs running
  • Expansion of the Cavalier Basic Needs Meal Swipe Program

Building stability

Beyond Food Insecurity

Care and Support Services helps students facing financial hardship, housing instability, and other unmet needs. A $3 million endowment would give the team steady, flexible funding to go beyond day-to-day emergencies and invest in the work that builds lasting stability like:

  • Hoo Needs Help emergency financial assistance
  • Financial literacy and peer financial counseling
  • Transitional housing support for students facing instability
Applying for Hoo Needs Help was an important step in recovering from the aftermath of a car accident followed by a house fire. The funding covered basic expenses and replacing lost clothing. I am thankful for the support Care and Support Services provided
Graduate Student · Batten School · Hoo Needs Help
Support basic needs at UVA.

Your investment in the Basic Needs Endowment will allow us to continue expanding programs and services to meet growing demand, and to ensure that every student has access to the support they need to succeed.

Give to Basic Needs Support