CSUMB officials install a machine dispensing discounted emergency contraception pills.

It was an anonymous donor, a member of Grandmothers for Reproductive Rights, who approached the Chancellor’s Office at CSU Long Beach about installing a vending machine that dispenses emergency contraception at CSU Monterey Bay. It came at a time when several CSU campuses were already installing “wellness vending machines” delivering everything from cold medicine and menstrual products to contraception.

On Aug. 24, CSUMB’s first machine in a third-floor hallway of the Otter Student Union went live. The machine cost approximately $9,000. The CSUMB Health Promotion and Education office worked with the company Cadence to purchase its over-the-counter Morning After Pill at a reduced price. The university is selling them at cost ($10), which is about half the retail price. No identification is required. If money is an issue, students can ask for a code that gives them the pill for free.

As of Sept. 14, 33 doses had been dispensed through the machine, according to Gary Rodriguez, assistant director of Health and Wellness Services. “Most of the sales the first week were people stocking up, which we encourage students to do,” Rodriguez says.

The move to add wellness vending machines on CSU campuses began with Assembly Bill 2482, passed in 2022. It required five campuses to participate in a pilot program to dispense health and wellness-related products. By last year, eight campuses were using the machines, according to a CSU report.

The first CSUMB vending machine is a test. If it’s received well, Rodriguez hopes to install another wellness machine with other products elsewhere on campus.