SANTA MARIA, Calif. – A long-standing program that provides free meals weekly to Allan Hancock College students resumed Thursday.
With the start of the new fall semester earlier this week, the college’s Food Share program resumed after being on hiatus for the past three months due to the summer break.
The weekly raffle has been held every Thursday for nearly nine years at Hancock College’s two campuses in Santa Maria and Lompoc.
All Hancock College students taking both credit and noncredit courses are eligible for meal services.
“We’re working with the Food Bank of Santa Barbara County to get these foods for our students, in conjunction with certain activities and the basic needs center here on campus,” said Jannet Rios, Hancock College’s director of basic needs. “Our students are already very busy, going from class to class, maybe to work. We want to make sure that students have easy access to food right on campus. That way, they don’t have to worry about where they’re going to get their next meal.”
On Thursday, the food distribution area was full of students for the entire three-hour event, with everyone being able to choose which food they wanted to take home.
Through its partnership with the Food Bank, the Food Share program offers students a wide variety of products, including fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, dairy and nonperishable foods.
“It almost feels like grocery shopping,” Rios said. “We want to make sure our students have everything they need at home without feeling like they have to take the time or find the money to go to the grocery store. All of this is to help them perform academically and be successful in the classroom.”
Food Share takes place during the fall and spring semesters during ongoing lecture periods.
In Santa Maria, it will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on the terrace of Building G and from 2:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. on the Lompoc Valley Center campus outside Building 2.
Click here for more information about the Food Share program.
