Snack Shelves and Food Cards Are Back as Part of City College’s Approach to Student Food Security
By Julia Chong
jchong@theguardsman.com
Snack Shelves and Food Cards are back for another semester as part of City College’s approach to student food security. Implemented by the Office of Student Equity, these programs are intended to provide students daily access to supplemental nutrition.
Snack Shelves, stocked with free water and snacks like granola bars and fruit cups, are available across twelve departments at City College’s six campuses. Launched in late 2017, these shelves outlived the former RAM Food Market, a monthly produce and shelf-stable grocery distribution which was slowly discontinued after the pandemic.
Unlike Food Cards, which have certain eligibility requirements, Snack Shelves are available to the student body. All seven departments hosting Snack Shelves on Ocean Campus reported daily usage, with Sparkpoint Basic Needs Center and Queer Resource Center estimating more than 20 students per day.
“When you look at our data from check-ins, Snack Shelves are the most requested option,” said Katie Dalla, Queer Resource Center Coordinator. “With half the funding from the college and the other half from us for this specific service, we’ve used it up.”
Snack Shelves can be accessed on Ocean Campus at SparkPoint Basic Needs Center, Guardian Scholars and Homeless at Risk Transitional Students, Women’s Resource Center, UMOJA / African American Scholastic Programs, City Dream, Queer Resource Center, or Link Center. Resources are also available on the five satellite campuses: Chinatown/North Beach, Downtown, Evans Center, John Adams, and Mission. To receive food, students are asked to sign in using their CCSF app or ID as supply is limited to two snacks per day to ensure fair distribution.
“I’ve seen the difference. Sometimes, students are tired and need a pick me up before a test,” said Carlos Webster, UMOJA/African American Scholastic Programs New Student Counselor. “Students come around during midterms and finals for extra energy. They can come in, check in, get some water, and go through the variety of snacks we have.”
Food Cards, on the other hand, are an income-based approach to college hunger, allowing eligible students to purchase hot meals at campus eateries or groceries at Safeway. To obtain a Food Card, students need to complete a FAFSA application, SparkPoint Orientation and Welcome Form, and Food Card application, as well as be enrolled in at least six semester units or two noncredit courses and without a BA/BS or higher.
“The process was easy. I filled out a few things online, and after a couple days, I got an email that my card is ready for pickup,” said Noah Chang, Biology student. “Spending my own personal money to purchase campus food seemed a little expensive. Now that I’ve gotten help, it all feels a little less overwhelming.”
Food insecurity at City College could reflect larger trends across California. In a 2017 survey done by English Professor Jen Levinson, 41 percent of 1,088 students reported suffering from moderate food insecurity, while 20 percent extreme food insecurity.
Statewide, as of Aug. 2024, over 3 million households are considered to have unstable access to nutritional food, according to the California Association of Food Banks. Of those, at least 1 million were households with children. The figures were especially stark for communities of color, with36 percent of African American households and 31 percent of Latin American households lacking adequate food security.
In recent years, college hunger has become a growing focus for food justice organizations. Feeding America food banks now operate 316 pantries and 124 mobile pantry distributions on college campuses across the nation, while bringing awareness to the impacts of food insecurity on education.
Students facing food insecurity are advised to visit SparkPoint Basic Needs Center, Student Health, CalWORKs, Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS), and Family Resource Center (FRC) for eligibility and application assistance to CalFresh, California’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).