Citrus has resources available for students and community members struggling with food insecurity.
Student Life Supervisor Rosario Garcia and Basic Needs Coordinators Alexis Silva and Dianne Chow help keep these food services available.
The food pantry is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Campus Center for currently registered students, all they need is their student ID.
“At the food pantry, we usually have meals that are ready to eat,” Garcia said via email. “They just have to microwave it or add hot water.”
Since the pandemic, more students have been using food assistance programs, Garcia said in an email. Their grants have also been heavily used, Chow added in an email.
Silva said via email that the food pantry allows students to grab what they need without feeling as though they are being judged. The food pantry does not only offer food — toiletries are available as well.
Garcia said plenty is available for students to grab what they need as they please.
“This semester the food pantry has been getting 40-60 visits a week,” Garcia said in an email.
Another resource available is the monthly mobile food pantry, which provides monthly visits open to the public.
“For the mobile food pantry, students get items like chicken, canned goods, produce, peanut butter or a nut butter, bread, yogurt, etc.,” Garcia said in an email. “However, it varies.”
The mobile food pantry also provides a box of food that can last many weeks, as opposed to the daily food pantry, Garcia said in an email.
“We encourage students and staff to share information with anyone they believe may benefit from visiting the mobile food pantry,” Silva said in an email.
Upcoming mobile food pantry visits for the current fall semester are from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 7 and Dec. 5 in the Campus Center Mall.
For more information, visit food assistance under Resources for Students in Need.
