Food for thought: CSUF food pantry keeps students nourished

Students should never have to make a choice between buying a textbook or buying a meal, Orange County Supervisor Lisa Bartlett told a gathering at her alma mater, Cal State Fullerton, on Tuesday. Its never a good thing to go to class with your stomach growling, she said, adding that poor nutrition can cause learning

Students should never have to make a choice between buying a textbook or buying a meal, Orange County Supervisor Lisa Bartlett told a gathering at her alma mater, Cal State Fullerton, on Tuesday.

“It’s never a good thing to go to class with your stomach growling,” she said, adding that poor nutrition can cause learning problems.

Dozens joined Bartlett to celebrate The Pantry, a 700-square-foot, on-campus food bank that is providing students free, non-perishable food, fresh fruits, vegetables, milk and eggs.

  • “The Pantry,” a new on-campus food bank opened in late August and had a ribbon-cutting celebration on Tuesday, October 12, 2021. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Orange County Supervisor Lisa Bartlett speaks at the ribbon cutting for Cal State Fullerton’s “The Pantry,” on Tuesday, October 12, 2021. The on-campus store, maintained by Second Harvest Food Bank, provides healthy and fresh food for students in need. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Cal State Fullerton student Jennifer Ramirez-Guardian works in “The Pantry,” on Tuesday, October 12, 2021. The on-campus store is maintained by Second Harvest Food Bank to help students combat hunger. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Cal State Fullerton students Giselle Millan, from left, Jose Zambrano and Nicole Eltagonde, assist other students at “The Pantry,” a new on-campus food bank. The store opened in late August and had a ribbon-cutting celebration on Tuesday, October 12, 2021. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • With the help of other officials, Cal State Fullerton Associated Students President Josh Mitchell, center, cuts the ribbon on Tuesday, October 12, 2021 for “The Pantry” a new on-campus food bank. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Cal State Fullerton celebrates its new on-campus food pantry with a ribbon cutting ceremony as dozens take part on on Tuesday, October 12, 2021. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Cal State Fullerton student Marisa Palmerin-Flores, 19, checks out the Second Harvest Food Bank’s campus Food Pantry on Tuesday, October 12, 2021 after a ribbon-cutting. The event celebrated the last CSU to provide food for students in need. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Those items are “the backbone of a healthy diet,” added Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County Chief Mission Officer Claudia Keller, whose agency will help run the program, part of a growing trend of food pantries opening to address hunger on college campuses.

The Pantry has served 1,300 students since it opened Aug. 23 with the start of the new school year. It is averaging about 850 monthly visits, but the goal is 1,000 visits each month, CSUF President Framroze Virjee said.

“We know that there’s a stigma around food insecurity, so we help students by giving them unmarked shopping bags,” said student Jennifer Ramirez-Guardian who works at The Pantry and also utilizes the service.

Students “shop” by appointment as much as once a week.

“Some people say it’s their main resource” for food, Ramirez-Guardian said.

According to a 2019 study by Temple University’s Center for College, Community and Justice, nearly 39% of 167,000 students interviewed at 227 two-year and four-year colleges nationwide said they had experienced food insecurity in the last 30 days, with the pandemic inflaming the problem.

This post first appeared on ocregister.com

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