Your Guide to Freebies at USC — Food Edition
By: Ngai Yeung ’23
Two things we probably have in common – I love free stuff and I love food. In college, if you know where to look, it’s possible to find a lot of both. Lucky for us, I’ve used the past four years to ferret out free food opportunities on campus with my friends, especially Jenny! Take advantage of all the resources here and save time and money by grabbing some free meals!
Food trucks
Want some fire food at affordable prices? @eatstellarpizza Food Truck is coming to USC Fall ‘22!
A lot of USC events (such as concerts, study abroad fairs, cultural nights, departments’ anniversaries, and parents’ weekend) feature food trucks that provide free food to students! The USC Event Calendar is the place to go to find these events. You can also speed scan through all the campus activities emails delivered straight to your school inbox. If you get lucky, you might just accidentally stumble into one on campus! (Hint: Alumni Park and McCarthy Quad are hotspots) Unfortunately, because of the scale of these events, you may have to wait in line for a while.
Vegan Lunch on Tuesdays
Swing by the University Religious Center every Tuesday between 12-1pm to pick up a free vegan lunchbox. The Jubilee Vegan Café is run by Progressive Christians at USC in partnership with the Office of Religious Life to promote a plant-based diet. This was created after they realized how limited vegan options are on campus. Simply walk-in any Tuesday, or RSVP by emailing jubilee@uuc-la.org if you’re cutting it close to 1pm. Previous dishes included garlic noodles, salads, vegan ham wraps, fresh fruit, and cookies.
Sandwich Lunch Boxes
Keep an eye out for emails about university-wide talks and departmental events. Department based networking sessions, talks, screenings, focus groups, and more will often provide refreshments and boxed lunches to incentivize students to attend. Take advantage of the school’s many resources and grab free lunch while you’re at it. Most of these events will require you to RSVP, so look out for any sign-up links and mark it on your calendar.
Free Pizza
A free food classic, pizza is the easiest way to feed a hungry bunch. There’s a few ways you can enjoy it over good conversation here on campus. The Center for the Political Future hosts a Pizza and Politics event every other Wednesday from 1-2pm where students get to network and chat about current events with politicians and civic leaders. Then there’s the Polymathic Pizza series hosted in the evenings by the Sidney Harman Academy for Polymathic Study where scholars discuss cross-disciplinary perspectives on topics such as memory and imagination.
Midday Snacks
Itching for a midday bite but refuse to pay outrageous prices at Seeds or the Bookstore? Cultural centers such as the Center for Black Cultural and Student Affairs, the Asian Pacific American Student Services, and the LGBTQ+ Student Center within the Student Union Building are stocked with snacks. Sign up for their mailing lists to see the special events they host throughout the semester. You could also grab a small snack from the room next to the administrative office at the University Religious Center or make yourself a cup from their selection of teabags.
Trojan Table
Every first Friday of the month this semester, USC retirees, alumni, staff and faculty cater a home cooked dinner for USC students at the University Religious Center. All undergrad and grad students are eligible for the Trojan Table as long as they bring their student ID. You're encouraged to bring a box for leftovers too. Just come early as it’s first come first serve, and the line gets long quickly.
Bonus: Join clubs!
Of course, I’m not saying you should join clubs just for their free food, but it doesn’t hurt to sign up for as many club mailing lists as possible so you can get an overview of what goes on around campus. For example, the Secular Student Fellowship does dinners on Sunday nights. Effective Altruism SC used to do Monday dinners on campus. Annenberg Media has a Slack channel called #freefood. If the clubs truly interest you, it doesn’t hurt to get a free meal out of it!
Students experiencing food insecurity should reach out to basicneeds@usc.edu and check out other community resources here. Apply online here in ten minutes for CalFresh food stamps.
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