How free food programs at MJC, Stan State are coming to rescue of hungry students
Nancy Carranza, a third-year student at Modesto Junior College, is happy to give back to hungry families.
She knows first-hand what it feels like to study with the distraction of a growling stomach.
“Sometimes my mom skipped (meals),” Carranza said tearfully. “My mom planned out the month and made things work with food stamps.”
But, sometimes the family didn’t have enough for everyone.
Carranza’s dad is an agricultural worker. She lives in Ceres with her three siblings and her parents, and she is the first in her family to go to college.
Like Carranza, nearly half of California college students can’t afford enough nutritious food to stay healthy.
It’s a trend seen across the country as the cost of college has outpaced wages by eight times.
Nationwide, about one-third of college students are food insecure, according to a 2018 report from the federal General Accounting Office, a nonpartisan congressional watchdog.
The report also noted that since the 1990s, the number of food-insecure college students is rising, coinciding with the increasing enrollment of low-income students, as well as the decline in government funding to colleges.
Students who are from low-income households, veterans, former foster youth, minorities, first-generation enrollees or are parents are especially vulnerable. Some students still live with their families in food-insecure households.
All of it may be coming at the expense of their education, their chance to get ahead.
Without proper nutrition, they miss more classes and have lower grades, higher drop-out rates and more reports of physical and mental ailments, compared to their food-secure peers, according to researchers.
Food insecurity at Modesto JC
The U.S. Department of Agriculture describes food insecurity as not having enough food to lead an active, healthy life.
Among California community colleges, more than half of the students self-identified as food insecure and 1 in 5 had experienced homelessness in the previous 12 months, according to a 2019 report from the Office of the Chancellor.
Nearly 500,000 students are enrolled in the 57 community colleges across the state, the largest higher education system in the United States.
The majority of MJC’s 24,000 students are from Stanislaus County, and nearly 85% receive financial aid.
MJC offers basic needs support for its students, including free food.
Carranza is vice-president of MJC Associated Students, which sponsors Free Lunch On Wednesday (FLOW) for enrolled MJC students.
She’s a volunteer server in the program, which serves about 500 students each week. The meal selections vary with items from popular restaurants, such as Olive Garden, Panera and Chipotle, including vegetarian options.
“It is so touching to give them that one fresh meal on Wednesday,” said Carranza. She said that needy students plan their food for the week using the campus food programs including FLOW, the Pirates Food Pantry and the Starbucks’ food giveaway.
In addition, Emanuel Lutheran Church, near MJC’s East Campus, offers free breakfast to students twice a week. Instructors are also welcome to help “de-stigmatize” food insecurity.
“We are trying to leverage their ability to succeed in college,” Amy Yribarren said. “They’re not able to do that if they aren’t well fed.”
Yribarren is a nurse and the director of MJC’s Student Health Services.
She said MJC’s Basic Needs program works to provide students with all they need to be healthy. The program’s initial focus is food insecurity, but the services also include transportation, mental health care and help enrolling in health insurance and government food programs.
The program receives donations from on-campus groups and also works with community partners, including United Samaritan Foundation and Second Harvest Food Bank.
Stanislaus State’s food program
But, food insecurity isn’t only a problem at community colleges. It plagues students in four-year universities, though to a lesser degree.
Among California State University students, nearly 42% reported missing meals. This number decreased to 19% for University of California students.
“Our campus survey found that our numbers are similar to that report,” said Jennifer Sturtevant, care manager for the Basic Needs program at CSU Stanislaus.
Stan State has one of the highest enrollments (74%) of first-generation college attendees, nearly all from the six-county region that surrounds the Turlock campus. Almost 60% of the students receive Pell grants, the federal need-based grant program.
Stan State’s Basic Needs program provides several services, including a food box giveaway.
Cesar Estrada, a senior majoring in ecology, was heading to class when he walked by the giveaway last Wednesday. The foggy, chilly morning didn’t dampen the volunteers’ enthusiasm to reach out to their peers.
One of the student volunteers yelled to Estrada, “Hey, want some free food?”
Estrada was delighted with the offer — he needed food.
He was short on money, even though he works as a campus gardener. He lives in Modesto with five extended family members, and food can be scarce.
“We moved from Mexico when I was 3, and since then we’ve moved around a lot,” said Estrada. “There were some days we didn’t have enough food.”
Each month, they distribute about 200 food boxes, containing non-perishables, such as pasta, canned veggies and beans, and one pound of frozen ground beef. Titus, the Warrior mascot, even stopped by to rally for the giveaway.
Stan State’s Basic Needs program also operates the Warrior Food Pantry, where students can get 10 free food items each week. The only requirement is a student ID card showing they’re currently enrolled.
“We have an average of 70 students a day this semester coming to the food pantry,” said Sturtevant.
The food pantry is expanding to make space for fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as non-perishable staples, in partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank.
The program also helps students enroll in CalFresh, California’s version of SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps. Many financially strapped students qualify but don’t know it.
Funding for the programs comes from grants from the Cal State chancellors and donations from internal campus groups and the community. The Cal State Faculty Association and United Samaritan Foundation are longstanding supporters of a campus whose majority of students stay in the six-county region after graduation.
In December, the pantry received a $10,000 donation from Save Mart Cares.
California’s response to students in need
The programs at MJC and Stanislaus State mirror a trend among California schools.
UC, Cal State and community colleges across California have been developing programs for a few years to shore up their students. Many of those programs were grassroots, started by students to help their peers. One example is “Swipe out Hunger,” which started at UCLA and allows students to donate unused meal plan credits to hungry students.
The MJC and Stan State Basic Needs programs provide students with lists of local food banks and other resources for help during school breaks, such as the current winter break.
Elected state representatives have also joined the fight against student hunger.
In 2017, the California legislature passed two bills to promote “Hunger-Free” campuses. The funding was allocated to help implement food pantries, support a campus employee to assist students with enrolling into CalFresh, and develop meal plan sharing programs at the four-year universities.
MJC and Stan State receive some of those funds. However, they still rely on community support.
Officials from both institutions said they were astonished with the generosity of their respective campus communities, as well as community donors.
“The support that we have from the community is touching and overwhelming,” said Yribarren from MJC.
For Carranza and Estrada, this appears to be true, as both graduate next spring.
Carranza plans to transfer to Stan State or Fresno State to work toward a degree in counseling. Estrada hopes to work with an environmental group to address the effects of climate change, including in the Central Valley.
“It stands out to me that helping our students now,” Sturtevand said, “will help our community here, as well as our region.”
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MJC and Stan State Basic Needs program welcome donations of food, toiletries and money.
For information about MJC Pirate Pantry, visit https://www.mjc.edu/studentservices/pantry/
For information about Stan State’s Basic Needs program, visit https://www.csustan.edu/basic-needs
This story was produced with financial support from The Stanislaus County Office of Education and the Stanislaus Community Foundation, along with the GroundTruth Project’s Report for America initiative. The Modesto Bee maintains full editorial control of this work.
This story was originally published January 4, 2020 at 3:30 PM.
