SUNY Chancellor King Announces Expansion of Programs to Combat Basic Needs Insecurity
October 28, 2026
Five More SUNY Campuses will Establish Food Lockers for 24/7 Access to Fresh and Healthy Food Options
SUNY will also Support Campuses as They Work to Enhance Transportation Services for Students
Albany, NY — State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr. today announced the expansion of student support programs to assist with basic needs and increase student engagement at SUNY campuses. Through the expansion, five additional SUNY campuses will establish food lockers to provide students with 24/7 access to fresh and healthy food options through the campus food pantry, and SUNY will also support campuses as they work to enhance their transportation services for students.
"At SUNY, we are committed to providing our students with the support they need to reach their full potential and complete their degree," said SUNY Chancellor King. "Initiatives that increase access to healthy food and transportation and help our students feel a sense of belonging on their campus are vital to ensuring they can thrive as they work to complete their studies. Student success drives everything we do at SUNY, and we are proud of our work to expand access to essential resources for our students."
The SUNY Board of Trustees said, "Through the unwavering support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the State Legislature, SUNY can invest in programs that ensure our students have access to the resources they need to succeed. SUNY remains committed to continuing our work to remove barriers to education and increase access to essential resources."
Every SUNY campus has a food pantry or stigma-free food access available to all students, and SUNY dedicates $1 million in ongoing operating aid each year to support initiatives to address food insecurity on all State-operated campuses, as well as $550,000 in assistance for SUNY community college food pantries.
Food lockers supplement the work of food pantries by providing students with the ability to pick up fresh, refrigerated food after hours. SUNY will expand its food locker program to five additional campuses, Alfred State College, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, Mohawk Valley Community College, Onondaga Community College, and Suffolk County Community College, so more students can access healthy and fresh food options after-hours. SUNY began its food locker program last year with Finger Lakes Community College, Monroe Community College, SUNY Plattsburgh, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, and SUNY Potsdam. This year, food lockers were also added at SUNY Erie and Westchester Community College.
Additionally, SUNY has worked to fill transportation gaps and improve access to transportation for all students. Common issues students face includes the inability to get to campus, particularly for evening and weekend classes, to access teaching and internships, to get to medical appointments, and to return home on breaks. This year, SUNY will work with the technical assistance provider Trellis Strategies to support campuses to adopt quick, practical solutions to enhance their transportation services for students accessing their campus, as well as off-campus experiential learning opportunities, and to travel home for breaks.
Allyson Cornett, Director at Trellis Strategies, said, "SUNY is leading the way in recognizing that a reliable ride can be the difference between a student finishing their degree or having to step away. Rising transportation costs are putting increased pressure on students, and SUNY's commitment to closing transportation gaps is exactly the kind of investment that moves the needle on student success. Trellis Strategies is honored to support SUNY in this important work."
State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, Chair of the Senate Committee on Higher Education said, "Any educator will tell you that a hungry student has a hard time learning. Many SUNY students work during the day and take classes at night, and if the food pantry closes at five o'clock, it does not do them much good. Food lockers will help fix that."
State Senator Patricia Fahy said, "SUNY continues to step up and go beyond the traditional academic experience, ensuring that students who are attending college or university are able to access critical food, transportation, and transition services. When we talk about ensuring all students succeed regardless of background, this holistic approach is exactly what we mean. Expanding support and resource infrastructure for students helps to eliminate barriers to succeeding in school and in their social lives, leading to better outcomes. I want to thank and commend Chancellor King, the SUNY Board of Trustees, and Governor Hochul for continuing to hone in on what truly makes our students succeed outside of the lecture hall and classroom."
State Senator Lea Webb said, "Increasing supportive programming for college students in our SUNY system means strengthening the future workforce, improving our quality of life, and bolstering our investments in the future of New York. As a member of the Senate's higher education committee and a proud SUNY graduate myself, I understand that college students cannot be academically successful if their basic needs are not met. The expansion of SUNY's food locker program means that more students in our area can go to class well-fed and energized for the day. I am grateful to see SUNY Chancellor King expanding this important initiative."
State Senator Robert Jackson said, "The promise of higher education must never be diminished by the weight of hunger or the distance between a student and the classroom. Opportunity is not merely opening the doors of a university; it is ensuring that students have what they need to walk through them and succeed. I commend Chancellor King and the SUNY Board of Trustees for recognizing that food security and reliable transportation are not privileges, but essential foundations of educational equity. When public policy meets human dignity with meaningful action, we do more than remove barriers. We affirm that no student's future should be determined by the hardships they must overcome."
State Assemblymember Alicia L. Hyndman, Chair of the Assembly Committee on Higher Education said, "Food insecurity and transportation deserts should not be barriers for students to attend college. That is why I am proud to support SUNY Chancellor John B. King's initiative to dedicate $1 million in ongoing food aid, along with another $550,000 to expand food pantries and food lockers on campuses. I am also thrilled that the University network is working to address transportation gaps for our scholars."
In 2025, five SUNY campuses — Herkimer Community College, Jamestown Community College, SUNY Cortland, SUNY Oneonta, and SUNY Old Westbury — were early participants in the transportation pilot programs. These campuses collaborated with local leaders on county transportation master plans to increase service to areas where students live, purchasing bus trackers, and increasing communication to resolve issues and enhance services for students. Earlier this year, an additional five campuses — Corning Community College, Dutchess Community College, SUNY Orange, SUNY Potsdam, and SUNY Purchase — received a SUNY grant of up to $10,000 each to develop, improve, and implement plans to increase transportation access, including expanding access to public transportation, primarily in partnership with local governments and transit agencies. SUNY's transportation pilots have led to early wins for students across the state, including at SUNY Oneonta, where the campus worked with Greyhound Trailways to move a bus stop to their campus.
SUNY is committed to expanding access to essential resources for students. Recently, SUNY announced the expansion of student support initiatives including supports for student parents and a meal swipe donation program during the Basic Needs Summit. In September, Chancellor King announced additional basic needs initiatives, including establishing student emergency aid funds on all 64 SUNY campuses and expanding support for foster and formerly homeless youth. In March, Chancellor King joined students for a roundtable to discuss how emergency aid grants have made the pathway to higher education more accessible. In January, SUNY announced the expansion of basic needs programs including food lockers, projects to address housing security, and programs to fill transportation gaps. SUNY also announced awards from the Mental Health First Aid Grant Program to strengthen campus-wide approaches to student mental health and well-being across the SUNY System. In November 2025, SUNY expanded the student emergency aid grant program at 10 community colleges through a $350,000 grant from the Gates Foundation, and Governor Hochul's FY2026-27 Executive Budget includes $600,000 in dedicated state support for SUNY to expand campus emergency aid grant programs.
SUNY launched the emergency aid pilot program in 2017 at seven campuses, supported by $600,000 in grants from Gerstner Philanthropies and the Heckscher Foundation for Children. In November 2025, Governor Hochul announced $550,000 in emergency assistance for SUNY's community college food pantries to combat the food insecurity crisis. SUNY also offers the Arthur O. Eve Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), which provides access, academic support, and supplemental financial assistance to students from low-income backgrounds, many of whom are the first in their families to attend college. Fact sheets outlining SUNY's commitment to basic needs can be found here: Basic Needs Support Fact Sheet 2026 and Food Insecurity Fact Sheet 2026.
About the State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state's only college of optometry, 12 Educational Opportunity Centers, over 30 ATTAIN digital literacy labs, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.7 million students across its portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2025, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and annually one in three New Yorkers who earn a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit suny.edu.
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