Today, Rutgers University opened their new basic needs center at the New Brunswick campus.

The 4000 square foot space will be dedicated to offering things like food assistance, emergency aid, mental and physical wellness support, and even connection to state and federal resources.

As part of our ongoing series, Hunger in New Jersey, Ted Goldberg has more on the new center that's serving as a one stop shop for students to feel supported and heard.

It's cold out there, but it's nice and warm in here.

Rutgers is bringing a little more warmth to its New Brunswick campus by opening a basic needs center.

Specifically the way that it is set up here, Like it really tries to kind of get rid of the stigma that is involved with asking for help or basic needs.

Insecurity, because it does make it feel like more of like a hub where students can come and feel comfortable kind of shopping and looking around.

Students like Liliana Sosa and Jodie Foster Ramos are happy to see Rutgers provide stuff like clothing and food for students who desperately need them.

My parents are both immigrants from the Philippines.

I have two older, two older brothers and two younger sisters, so there's really not much leeway for me to get help.

So everything's on my own right now.

Ramos is a junior nursing student and she's involved with Air Force ROTC.

They cover tuition, but room and board are on her, and the pantry is a huge help.

The chicken, the rice, you can just make really basic meals out of it.

And it's healthy, too.

There's also a lot of canned vegetables.

So when you're training for something, a lot of people, they want to be healthy, right?

And you need high protein things.

And you can get that high protein here.

The pantry looks more like a grocery store, thanks to contributions from food banks and a donation from Shoprite worth 8 to $9000.

They all help Ramos cook up some of her favorite recipes.

Chicken teriyaki and rice.

A lot of Asian food.

Since I am Filipino.

There are some limits on what students can take.

But Ramos says the food here goes a long way.

So if you combine everything, you can get maybe three, four or five meals out of this.

And that's, you know, that's dinner for the week.

And you can come every week when you don't have money.

Every dollar counts.

So this place really helped me and probably saved me like hundreds of dollars after coming here since last semester.

The Basic needs center also has some free textbooks, private offices for meetings students might need, and a clothing rack where students can grab three pieces of clothing per semester free of charge.

I had to buy this blazer for this event, and that cost it $60, Right?

So that $60 I could have used on groceries went to this blazer.

It's a good time to create this center.

Rutgers increased its tuition and fees by 4% for the current school year, or about $300 per semester, according to estimates released by the school.

The center will.

Serve as a vital hub, providing support and services that address food insecurity, housing stability and other critical needs.

It is a space built on compassion, dignity and support and showing that no student at Rutgers has to choose between paying for a meal or purchasing a textbook.

Between keeping a roof over their head or staying enrolled in their.

Classes, they can stay on track, graduate on time with minimal debt, and complete a world class education.

This entire space really sends a message of if you need help, it's okay to ask for help.

I know that there's a stigma around needing help and it being somewhat bad, but it's not like people here support you and they love you and they'll help you.

So if you need help, just reach out.

And centers like this are trying to erase that stigma and make college a little more affordable.

At Rutgers, I'm Ted Goldberg.

NJ Spotlight News.