We know that the current cost of living crisis is at the forefront of everyone's minds. Students will be hit harder by the cost of living crisis and it will impact on their whole experience, which is why it is one of our top priorities at Solent SU this year.
Therefore, we have launched a new way to support our students to ensure that you don’t miss out on basic living essentials due to the cost-of-living crisis.
What does the SU Exchange include?
The SU Exchange includes:
- A community pantry
- A book exchange
- Free condoms
- Free sanitary products
- A thrift store
- A microwave for use
Is there anything you'd like to us add to the exchange that you think we're missing? Let us know by emailing students.union@solent.ac.uk and we can look into getting this added to the SU Exchange.
Opening times
We are now open Monday to Fridays, 11am – 4pm.
Membership
To use the Community Pantry, students need to pay £5 for each semester. This is broken down as:
- £5 for September 2023 to January 2024,
- And another £5 for February 2024 to May 2024.
You must sign up at the till in the SU Exchange with your student card before you can use the service. Memberships cannot be purchased online. We only accept card payments and memberships do not auto-renew.
Using the service
You can only use the service once a week, as a supplement to shopping, and take up to 5 items. This is to ensure all students have the same opportunity to access essentials and to make it fair.
How we get our stock
Our stock is bought by the Students' Union or donated to us from generous companies, staff or the community. All the money from your memberships goes straight back into buying more stock to keep the pantry full.
Where is it located?
The SU Exchange can be found in the East Park Deli in The Spark at Solent University.
The address is: SU Exchange, East Park Deli, The Spark, Solent University, East Park Terrace, Southampton, SO14 0YN.