As the head of California State University, Bakersfield’s basic needs program, Jason Watkins hears a lot of stories from students who have persevered through homelessness or hunger, but one conversation served to reinforce for Watkins the necessity of the university's Food Pantry.
“The student was going back over the meals they had for the week and realized that every single meal came from the Food Pantry,” he said.
CSUB will observe Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week this month, Nov. 13-21. But in reality, CSUB serves homeless and hungry students every day of the year.
The university offers a variety of resources to address students’ basic needs, including emergency housing, the food pantry, produce from the university’s Edible Garden, a monthly free food distribution and more.
Watkins said that 7% to 10% of CSUB students are currently homeless, at risk of being homeless or have experienced homelessness recently. In addition, the Food Pantry logged a high of 711 visits one week in October, far exceeding the average of 400 visits per week during the prior semester.
“You can’t study if you’re hungry,” Watkins said. “I remember one student saying, ‘Wow, they have arugula.’ He was blown away that we have fresh vegetables, and that reminded me how rare that access can be.”
The university depends largely on donations to stock the pantry's shelves with food and hygiene products. The wish list includes bread, cereal, peanut butter and jelly, ramen, instant macaroni and cheese, instant oatmeal, breakfast bars, condiments, canned tuna, chicken, dairy and hygiene items.
Donations can be brought to the pantry, located on the northeast side of campus near Parking Lot M. For more information, email Jason Watkins at jwatkins4@csub.edu.
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