CoM Cupboard and Fresh Produce Stand

College of Marin has a program to help students get the food they need by offering different free food programs on campus every week. Attending college in Marin County is expensive, and many students who attend College of Marin depend on this program.

A large population of College of Marin’s students would not be able to be in school if it were not for programs like the College of Marin fresh food pantry and produce stand. In speaking with numerous students and COM staff, it was clear how passionate and appreciative the campus is of this program.

CoM student Haley explained, “whenever I see the food pantry it's my favorite day of the week. It makes Wednesday the best day.”

CoM student Linyu Diaz said the cupboard actually allows her to focus on school as a low income single mother. “I have two boys 14 and 11. They are growing boys and they are hungry all the time, and I always have enough food for them because of this program. If it wasn't for the program, I wouldn't have enough, and I would be struggling to figure out where to get our next meals,” she said. “I couldn't do this (community college) if I had to have a full time job. The food that I get here is absolutely essential to my success for being a full time student right now.”

The 2019 #RealCollege survey, the nation's largest yearly assessment of basic needs and security of more than 40,000 California community college students, found that “50 percent of respondents were food insecure in the prior 30 days, 60 percent of respondents were housing insecure in the previous year, and 19 percent of respondents were homeless in the previous year,” according to Hope4College.com.

A common theme among all interviews I conducted was just how high living expenses are in Marin County. “Living in Marin is crazy expensive, but with resources like this it can be done,” said Linyu. “I am graduating this semester. I got into two universities. Without programs like this I could not have done that.”

The disadvantage of common standard food pantries is that fresh food needs to be refrigerated. Unfortunately this forces food pantries to stock up on non perishable processed foods. This brings the food quality down compared to offering students actual fresh produce and meals that are beyond just a snack. The CoM Cupboard works hard to offer students items and ingredients that can be used to make multiple healthy meals throughout the entire week for themselves as well as their families.

“The food options that are provided for us are amazing! They always have fresh fruit, fresh vegetables. I make apple crisp every week now because of the program. Just a little treat,” Linyu said with a huge smile on her face. “I also make soups out of the potatoes, the carrots. They also have snacks my kids can take to school. Sometimes they have eggs, which I really appreciate because I make a lot of egg heavy foods.”

The cupboard works as hard as possible to bring the most it can to students. “A couple weeks ago I got cheddar bunnies, organic cheddar bunnies for my son! Which I would normally buy anyway, so that saved me money right there,” Linyu said.

Haley said, “I did not bring a lunch today, but I knew that today I was able to come home with carrots, apples, potatoes, organic bread, a snack and something I can put in my backpack for today. And I know I'm coming home with a full basket of groceries that me and my family will be eating for the week until next Wednesday.”

Not only does the food pantry offer meals for students who don't have enough money for lunch between class, but it actually can nourish an entire family.

Program organizer Bo Buckley said the food is sourced via the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank. And, “for our pantry we do accept donations.”

Many students who rely on the CoM Cupboard say they wouldn’t be able to live their current lives without it. “I know that this program is here for me. So I know that I have more time for school, more time for homework, more time to provide for myself and sustain myself,” said Haley. “I think without the pantry I’d probably eat less truthfully, or eat worse things - probably more frequent fast food than I'd care to admit. Having this available to me has actually helped me in more ways than I'd actually really know how to explain.”

CoM student Javier said the cupboard makes a big impact on his day-to-day life. “I definitely need the extra support (of the pantry), because sometimes with my schedule I do not have enough time to go to a grocery store, or I don't have enough money to go to a grocery store.”

Javier thinks without the program, students would “take even more time to complete their majors, and maybe even not come back to school,” because of the extra work hours they will have to take on.

I spoke with Gabriel Lambert, heavy machinery operator and receiving clerk for the CoM Cupboard. He said he is proud to be a part of the program.

“Food is kind of the most intimate and fundamental way you can change someone's circumstance on a daily basis,” Lambert said. “I think we need to make sure people get fed. It's not a lot of good for people to come to school if their hungry.”

Lambert said the line for the pantry on an average day is quite diverse. “I see faculty, students, staff. Everyone across campus shows up.” Even our very own teachers and staff take advantage of the food options, he said. Being part of the program is “really a way to connect with the community and the students.”

There has been a 23 percent increase in food produce stand attendees compared to last semester. The program has grown to be a standard part of many CoM students’ weeks.