The GCC Cares Food Pantry offers students easy access to the food and drink needed to fuel their academic ambitions. The pantry, also known as the GCC Cares Market, operates in two locations. The first is at the College’s Verdugo Campus in the Civic Auditorium and the second is at the Garfield Campus in Somerset 104.
The markets can be of particular use to low-income students and students who suffer from varying levels of food insecurity. Approximately 70 percent of students who attend the Verdugo Campus are low-income and more than 85 percent of those attending the Garfield Campus are too, according to GCC Cares Program Manager Andre Manukyan. What’s more, in a recent survey sent out to students, more than half of the participants indicated that they suffered from some level of food insecurity.
The markets welcome all students who are enrolled in one or more classes during the current semester. Appointments are required, and can be scheduled by going to GCC’s website, selecting the desired location and choosing an available date and time to go.
The market revolves around a points system, where any student who states that they need food, is provided with 160 points to be used over the course of a semester. Food pricing is based on these points and individuals can decide how and when they want to spend them. “Some students come and use 10 points a week for 16 weeks during the semester, but other students might only need to come once a month and use 40 points per visit for four months,” said Manukyan.
One significant benefit of the points system is that it allows students to choose what they want and need specifically, as opposed to being provided with generic prepackaged bags of food, which may not match their preferences or allergies. “It’s set up very similarly to a corner market,” Manukyan said. “It has shelves like a store, it’s set up like a full market and then students are able to pick out exactly what they need with the points that they have.”
Manukyan emphasized the markets’ importance. “We see this as a critical component to ensure that students succeed academically. Especially our low-income students because we see that between food costs and housing costs, they’re usually barely able to make it,” he said. “The food insecurity they experience ultimately impacts their academics.”
The pantry also offers unique and valuable experiences to those who choose to volunteer as workers. “Working here at the food pantry in GCC, it’s a pretty joyful experience, just being able to help those in need, who come knowing that they can’t gather the necessities themselves and having us provide them is a pretty heartwarming feeling. This is technically my first experience in the workfield and it’s a pretty welcoming working experience for a beginner. I was able to develop communication skills, I was able to learn experiences from my fellow coworkers and just know more about what life is like in more outer parts of Glendale” said GCC student Allen Ovsepyan. Third-year Glendale College student, Xareni Perez, shared a similar sentiment. “I feel like I’m helping people while I help myself by getting some communication skills, building my resume and getting my volunteer hours,” Perez said. “I’m helping myself while I help people that are in need.”
Although the GCC Cares Market and other services like it are so beneficial to those in need, the data suggests that even more students should be taking advantage of these benefits. About 3000 to 4000 students use the market over the course of a semester, but this number would be closer to 7000 or 8000 if everybody who needed help chose to get it. “We know that the vast majority of the students know that a food pantry exists on campus, so that’s not the primary reason why students don’t use it. I think that the primary reason is there’s also still a stigma around using it, some students might feel embarrassed to use it,” said Manukyan. We are hoping that more and more students feel comfortable using it.”
Since the food pantry’s inception in 2016, it has gone through various alterations. The next planned change is the relocation of the Civic Auditorium market. The auditorium is a temporary space, because there is an ongoing process of creating a permanent GCC Cares office on the main campus, which would include the GCC Cares Market. The new, on campus location will provide a massive space and a central, easily accessible place for students to visit GCC Cares and take advantage of its various services.
Lucas Lignini can be reached at [email protected].