With colder days and schools closing for break, the holiday season can exacerbate food insecurity, particularly for students and families who recieve school-based meal assistance. About 30 percent of Berkeley Unified School District students qualify for free or reduced-cost meals provided by the district. The Berkeley High School Jacket compiled a list of resources where students and families can find free holiday meals, food, and clothing:
The Berkeley Food Pantry is open to people who reside, attend school, or are employed in Albany or Berkeley. Located at 1600 Sacramento St., the Berkeley Food Pantry is open from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It is accessible by the 52 AC Transit bus line and is three blocks south of the North Berkeley BART Station. Community members may visit this pantry up to twice a month. Newcomers must bring a photo ID and proof of association with Albany or Berkeley to receive food. This process provides them access to all food pantries associated with the Alameda County Community Food Bank. The Pantry will be closed the day after Christmas, Friday, Dec. 26, 2025, and the day after New Year’s, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026.
Open 365 days a year, the Dorothy Day House offers meals, showers, laundry, clothing, lockers, medical and addiction referrals, and more to anyone in need. The drop-in center cooks and serves over 550 meals daily to Berkeley community members. It is located across the street from BHS at 1931 Center St., Berkeley, CA, 94707. The Dorothy Day House offers free breakfast from 8:30 a.m. to 9:15 a.m., Monday through Saturday. It also serves free lunch seven days a week from 12:30 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.
The Berkeley Food Network serves over 1,000 households each week at its largest food distribution center, located at 1925 Ninth St., Berkeley, CA, 94710, and is accessible by the 51B or 72 AC Transit bus lines. The Ninth Street Pantry is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday. Each household may visit the pantry once a week. In addition, the Berkeley Food Network operates 11 community pantries and neighborhood pop-up pantries, short-term pantries that are open at select times and are easily accessible to the communities they are trying to serve. A pop-up pantry organized by the BHS Academy of Medicine and Public Service (AMPS) employing AMPS students opens at BHS during the first and third Wednesdays of the month from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Other pop-up locations include the Berkeley Technology Academy, Albany High School, and the South Berkeley Senior Center. Special holiday food items will be available at Berkeley Food Network pantries leading up to the holidays. The Ninth Street Pantry will be closed on Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025; Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025; and Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026.
The First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley serves over 100 households at its food pantry from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. on the first and third Saturdays of the month. The pantry is located at the church at 2407 Dana St., Berkeley, CA, 94704. The food pantry operates on a first-come, first-serve basis. Upon arrival, individuals are registered using a name and mobile number. On Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, the church will offer extra food to help supply families during the break. The First Presbyterian Church also hosts Street Meals from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the church. There, people can enjoy a nutritious meal and receive clothing and toiletries on the second and last Saturdays of the month. The meal is served at 5 p.m.
The Alameda County Community Food Bank partners with over 420 pantries, food distribution programs, and hot-meal programs. They distribute food to feed 60,000 people daily. Using their Food Recovery Program, which takes edible, unsalable food from local grocery stores and gives it to partner organizations, they have recovered and distributed 6.3 million pounds of food this year. The emergency food help line can be reached at (510) 635-3663, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The help line connects people with same-day food access and offers multilingual support and screenings for CalFresh (formerly known as Food Stamps).