Let's Connect

There are so many ways to join in the BNC community. Drop in any time we are open. Center hours are listed at the bottom of this page. We look forward to being in conversation with you.

Our center is located in Champinefu Lodge at 1030 SW Madison Avenue, Corvallis, 97333.

You can call us at 541-737-3747.

Please look through the connection points below for more ways to talk with us. Best email addresses can be found below in the activity descriptions.

Find what you would like to do

Your constructive feedback is important to us. We are interested to know about your experience, your needs, and your ideas. In this learning organization we strive to improve and grow. Feedback is welcome in person at the center. You can also email us at [email protected].  

 

Peer navigators are here to support you! We know it can help to have a thought partner when making a plan. We can answer questions about resources as you figure out what to do next. We can help you search for answers to questions about programs or resources if we don't know, too.

Drop in while the center is open to have a conversation or email us first with questions. Our email address is [email protected] 

  

At the BNC we enjoy sharing our work through tours. Stop in for a tour Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday during our hours of operation and request a tour at the front desk from any of our peer navigators.

  

To schedule a tour for a group, please email [email protected]. 

  We can bring a bite-sized piece of what the BNC is like.  Our goal when tabling is to help share information about resources available to students and opportunities to engage with the BNC Community. It is a great way to allow people to ask their questions and make a connection with us.

While we do our best to schedule tabling events, our 'yes' is dependent on our team's calendar and peer navigator availability.

If you would like to have BNC peer navigators table at an event please email [email protected]. 

Thank you for your interest! Choosing to spend your time supporting the BNC helps us be the best hosts we can for one another. Opportunities include:

  • participating in leadership development experiences - your voice and presence contributes meaningfully to our workshops! 
  • pantry prep events involve getting together to pack up produce, stock up the pantry, and share a meal or snacks after
  • filling needed roles during pantry open hours to greet, chat with shoppers, restock, and keep things clean and tidy makes the experience warm and friendly for all of us 
  • gardening at the BNC. Plants need regular weeding and watering. Sometimes a bigger group effort is needed to prep for planting, for harvesting, or when spreading mulch

We are happy to have your company, your talents, and your help! During your experience, peer navigators will assign and support our work together. We are ready to answer questions that come up along the way.

To get started, visit the front desk to learn details of current opportunities. 

For paperwork for classes, please bring it with you to the center. Peer navigators or BNC staff are happy to assist you. If you have questions, please email [email protected].

Teams or departments can email Emily at [email protected] to schedule a group to volunteer at the food pantry.

We look forward to seeing you here!  

Peer navigators throw events like skills workshops, cooking classes, SNAP sign-up events, campus resource info events, game & craft nights, open mic nights, art shows, and more...

      

Planning events with other student organizations or with students from the BNC community is part of what we do. Collaboration to us means co-creation with shared design and shared work to throw an event for a shared purpose. Part of our purpose needs to include being a meaningful contribution to the basic needs of the OSU community. Because of this, our events are open to students broadly at OSU who choose to visit or follow the BNC.

If you have an idea, we'd like to hear from you! Email [email protected] to pitch an idea.

 

*Please know that the BNC spaces cannot be reserved for events outside of BNC programming.

If you are teaching a class with themes related to basic needs and would like to visit as a class, we can plan an experience together. Classes have met at the BNC for a tour by peer navigators, as a site for a class discussion, or a co-facilitated group activity. Please email [email protected] to check availability and begin planning.

  

The BNC Student Advisory Board is a group activity that invites listening, collaborative work, and thoughtful feedback about the center's incidental student fee budget and towards the work of the the BNC mission: to be a meaningful contribution to the basic needs of the Oregon State University Community.

Every eligible student who attends an advisory board meeting at the BNC is considered a member for that event.

Meetings typically last about an hour and involve some time for participants to talk as people before moving into the agenda. The meeting is conducted as a group discussion co-hosted by the SAB chair and student fee committee liaison. Topics may include any upcoming incidental student fee budget decisions, BNC program review, consideration of thoughtful issues of the day, or include an activity to build skills.

To look at minutes/agendas from meetings, read the bylaws, or find out more about how to get involved, please email advisor to the BNC SAB [email protected]

The BNC values your participation and interest in this process.

  

Peer Navigators are crucial players in the work of the BNC, supporting students in peer strategy conversations, operating the day-to-day programs in the center and working on projects to support basic needs access and skills for the campus community.

Working at the BNC is a leadership development experience, and those who join the team can expect to benefit from robust training and support to succeed at the BNC and OSU.

Because we are a learning organization and believe all students are capable leaders, we strive to further build capacity and leadership skills in everyone who works here. Each person on the team brings unique strengths and everyone is regularly in a learner role and a teacher role.

The BNC typically advertises student jobs some time during spring term, with positions beginning after Labor Day the following fall. 

  

Follow Instagram and announcements at the center to watch for postings. 

Jobs will be posted on the OSU Jobs website.

  

We encourage applicants to visit the Career Development Center and use your campus resources to help your application materials shine.

Interns from Human Development and Family Studies are valued teammates contributing to BNC programs richly as they complete their learning experience.  

  

HDFS students seeking experiences for 310 should contact [email protected].  The BNC typically employs one intern per term when work is available and may require availability for specific days of the week or shifts depending on BNC program staffing needs. 

Thank you for your interest in joining in the work of the BNC by sharing your personal resources with the community. The Basic Needs Center appreciates both monetary donations and food donations.

To donate funds, please visit OSU Foundation's page for 'Beavs Fight Hunger'.

If you would like to give food to the OSU Food Pantry, that is great, too. Please check out guidelines and our wishlist below.

The best question to consider when choosing donations is ‘what shelf stable items would you like to find when shopping?’ This is likely what others would like to find.

We do have the following wishlist if specific recommendations are helpful.

  • Canned salmon, tuna, spam, and chicken
  • Cooking oil (olive oil, vegetable oil, coconut oil, canola oil etc.)
  • Ramen/instant noodles/Indomie noodles/Thai Kitchen gluten free instant noodles
  • Shelf stable non-dairy milk
  • Shelf stable cow’s milk (Dollar Tree carries this)
  • Gluten free pasta, macaroni and cheese, bread
  • Ground coffee/instant coffee/whole bean coffee/k-cups
  • Snacking chocolate and hot cocoa
  • Granola bars/breakfast bars
  • Jars of peanut butter or other nut butters or alternatives
  • Boxes of cereal
  • Canned food including diced tomatoes, canned beans, peaches, and other fruit
  • Fresh produce from the garden
  • Spices, seasonings, bouillon, broth/stock
  • Snack foods (for fueling study sessions!)
  • New can openers

And a few additional items that will be shared with students through other BNC programs.

  • Flatware that is new or used, clean, and in good shape 
  • Menstrual products (especially pads of all types, and overnight pads)
  • Cooking aprons (may be new or used-but-clean - thrift store finds and homemade appreciated!)

What items aren’t accepted?

We do not accept shelf stable foods significantly past best-by date. With clear disclosure to allow personal decision making, we do offer some just-past date but still ok items.

We do not accept: open packages; supplements or medicine; dairy or protein past best-by date; safe sex supplies; expired baby formula or baby food; pet food and supplies; home canned items; windfall fruit; homegrown eggs; household items; and clothes. Please call or email to ask about donations you aren’t sure about: 541-737-3747 or [email protected].

A note about our weekly schedule:

The OSU Food Pantry is open Wednesdays. If perishable food items are donated on a non-pantry day and will not be good quality by the next Wednesday, the BNC team will distribute items to students visiting the Basic Needs Center for other programs and they will not go out through the OSU Food Pantry.  Please contact [email protected] to speak with Emily if you have any questions about this. 

      

<Section Under Construction> Connect through Food: Recipes to Try

Peanut Butter

3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies (peanut butter, quick oats)

Ingredients:

  • ½ cup unsweetened natural peanut butter
  • ¼ cup pure maple syrup
  • ½ cup + 2 tbsp quick oats

Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
  • Add peanut butter, syrup and oats into a large mixing bowl. Stir until maple syrup is completely incorporated into the peanut butter and oats are fully coated. Your mixture should resemble a thick cookie dough.
  • Portion the dough into 1 tbsp pieces. Take one piece of dough and roll between palms until it forms a round ball. Place it onto your prepared cookie sheet and then flatten the dough ball until it becomes a round disk (about ¼ inch thick). You can do this with the back of a metal spoon or the palm of your hand. Space cookies about ½ inch apart. The cookies don’t spread during baking so you don’t need to space them out as much.
  • Bake cookies for about 9-10 minutes or until the surfaces look cooked.
  • Let cookies cool completely on the cookie sheet before removing. 

Peanut Butter Ramen (peanut butter, ramen)

Ingredients (3 servings)

  • 3 3-oz packet instant ramen
  • ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
  • 3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp chili garlic sauce
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup pasta water
  • 2 green onions, chopped

Instructions:

Cook ramen noodles and drain, saving 1/3 cup of the water. In a medium bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, soy sauce, chili sauce, sesame oil, lemon juice, and pasta water. Pour the sauce over the noodles and toss to coat. Top with sliced green onions.

Pinto Beans

Vegetarian Chili (beans, diced tomatoes, onion)

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • I medium onion
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 2 medium carrots, chopped
  • 2 ribs celery, chopped
  • ½ teaspoon salt, divided
  • 4 cloves of garlic, pressed or minced
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika
  • I teaspoon dried oregano
  • 2 cans (15 oz) diced tomatoes, with juices
  • 1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 can (15 oz) pinto beans, rinsed and drained
  • 2 cups vegetable broth or water
  • 1 bay leaf

Instructions: 

  1. In large pot over medium heat, warm olive oil and add onion, bell pepper, carrot, celery, and ¼ teaspoon of the salt. Cook until vegetables are tender, about 7-10 minutes.
  2. Add garlic, chili powder, smoked paprika and oregano. Cook until fragrant while stirring, about a minute. 
  3. Add tomatoes with their juices, the black and pinto beans, vegetable broth, and bay leaf. Stir to combine and let the mixture comes to a simmer. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally and reducing heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer for 30 minutes.
  4. Remove chili from heat and discard the bay leaf. 

Garbanzo Beans or Chickpeas

Black Beans

Black bean brownies (black beans, quick oats)

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 cups black beans (1 15-oz can, drained and rinsed)
  • 2 tbsp cocoa powder
  • ½ cup quick oats
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ½  cup pure maple syrup, honey, or agave
  • ¼ cup coconut or vegetable oil
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ cup - ⅔ cup chocolate chips

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Combine all ingredients except chips in a good food processor, and blend until completely smooth. Really blend well (a blender can work if you absolutely must, but the texture will be much better in a food processor. 
  3. Stir in the chips, then pour into a greased 8x8 pan. 
  4. Optional: Sprinkle extra chocolate chips over the top. 
  5. Cook the black bean brownies 15-18 minutes, then let cool at least 10 minutes before trying to cut. If they still look a bit undercooked, you can place them in the fridge overnight and they will magically firm up. 

Makes 9-12 brownies.

Lentils

Red Lentils

Red Lentil Tacos

Ingredients for filling:

  • ½ medium onion, finely diced ½ green pepper, finely diced
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic or ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • 2 tsp cooking oil
  • 1 cup red lentils
  • 2 tablespoons taco seasoning (~ 1 pack of store-bought seasoning)
  • 2 ½ - 3 cups water

Ingredients for Serving:

  • 6-8 tortillas
  • Lettuce
  • Salsa
  • Cheese (try cheddar, monterey jack, cheese blends) Sour Cream/Plain Yogurt
  • Any other taco garnishes you like

Directions:

  1. Lightly oil a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion & green pepper and cook until onions are slightly translucent and the vegetables are beginning to soften about 3-4 minutes.
  2. Next add minced garlic (if using) and cook for 1 additional minute until garlic is fragrant.
  3. Mix in the taco seasoning, lentils, and water. Add garlic powder now, if using. Cover and cook 13-16 minutes, stirring occasionally until the lentils are cooked and no water remains in the taco filling.
  4. Serve red lentil taco filling in warm tortillas with your favorite taco garnishes.

 

Red Lentil Hummus

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup red lentils
  • 3 cups water
  • ¼ cup tahini
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • ¾ tsp salt, or to taste
  • ¼ tsp cumin
  • crackers, pita, or bread for serving

Instructions:

  1. Add lentils and water to a medium pot, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.
  2. Continue to cook lentils for about 15 minutes, until the lentils are mushy and the water has been absorbed. If there is any water left, continue to simmer, stirring often, until all the water has been absorbed.
  3. Remove from heat and let cool for at least 10 minutes.
  4. Add the cooled lentils to a blender with the tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and cumin. Blend, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed, until completely smooth and creamy. The hummus will be a bit thinner than regular hummus but will get thicker as it cools in the fridge. 
  5. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 7 days. 

Mayocoba Beans

Blackeyed Peas

Blackeyed Peas and Greens

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb black-eyed peas 6 cups (or more)
  • broth (any variety) 2 cups baby spinach or other greens
  • Salt & Black pepper

Directions: 

  1. In a large bowl, cover beans with water by at least 4". Cover and let soak for at least 6 hours and up to 12.
  2. Drain beans and rinse under cold water. Transfer to a large pot. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally and adding more stock if liquid evaporates too quickly, until beans are tender, about 45 minutes.
  3. Stir in spinach and simmer until slightly wilted, about 5 minutes more; season with salt and pepper.

Diced Tomatoes

Spaghetti or Pasta

Maseca (Nixtamalized Corn Flour)

Basmati Rice

Medium Grain Rice

Long Grain Rice

Quick Oats

Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Baked Oatmeal (banana, quick oats, eggs, peanut butter)

Ingredients:

  • 1 heaping cup of ripe mashed banana (~2 medium/1 large)
  • ½ cup creamy or crunchy peanut butter
  • 2 eggs
  • ¼ cup pure maple syrup
  • ¾ cup oat milk (or milk of choice)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats or quick oats
  • ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ½ cup chocolate chips

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9x9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
  2. In a large bowl, add 1 cup of mashed bananas, peanut butter, eggs, maple syrup, milk of choice and vanilla extract. Whisk until well combined.
  3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients: oats, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Mix until well incorporated and then stir in the chocolate chips.
  4. Pour into the prepared baking dish and spread out evenly. Dollop with teaspoonfuls of peanut butter on top, then use a knife to swirl, just about 3-4 times. Don’t go overboard with the swirling or the oatmeal won’t look pretty. Finally, top the oatmeal with 2 tbsp chocolate chips.
  5. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the oatmeal is set in the middle. Remove and allow to cool for 10 minutes before sprinkling with a little sea salt and serving. 

 

 

Chicken 

Eggs

Tofu

Wheat Bread or Gluten Free Bread

Tuna canned

Salmon canned

Ramen