As the holiday season comes around and with governmental agencies and food banks still recovering from the effects of the shutdown, the Hawk CARES center on campus offers food resources, such as The Market and grab-and-go meals, to help students with food insecurity.
The Market works like a grocery store, but no payment is required, said Hawk CARES student support assistant November Rain. Only students enrolled in at least three units and who have Cosumnes River College as their home campus are allowed to shop at The Market.
“Students are allowed to come in once a week and get 10 points worth of items,” Rain said.
Items in The Market vary, but include things like jam, peanut butter, canned goods, rice, pasta and fresh produce grown by the horticulture department.
The space is divided into different colored sections with signs indicating how many points each item is worth.
There are items like fresh bread that cost no points but are limited to one per student, Rain said.
Alina Donahue, a 17-year-old undeclared major, said she heard about The Market through one of her professors.
“It’s helped my family a lot being able to get extra groceries,” Donahue said.
She said having a resource like this is helpful for students and especially for low-income students.
“It feels almost like a reward for being able to come on campus. You go to school, get some groceries and go home,” Donahue said.
Each student can pick up one grab-and-go meal a day and the meals don’t affect a student’s weekly points allowance, Rain said.
Various types of sandwiches, pesto pasta, cup of noodles and Hot Pockets are the meals available on the grab-and-go menu.
Donahue said she has previously used the grab-and-go meal service.
“You scan the QR code, fill out a little form and then whoever is working at the front will walk you and have you pick out what you picked,” Donahue said.
Students can find the QR code in the Hawk CARES center by the front desk.
Michael Salinas, a 26-year-old veterinary technology major, said he wasn’t aware of the food services the Hawk CARES center offers.
“Having the option to eat free food is always a nice thing to have,” Salinas said.
The center is open every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Off-campus resources are also available and Rain said the center can help students get connected with food banks in the region.
The closest food bank to campus is located at 8355 Arroyo Vista Drive Common Ground Covenant Church.
The Hawk CARES center will also operate from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday-Thursday during winter break. Students will need to be enrolled in at least three units for the spring semester to access their services.