By Nicole Gregory, contributing writer
Students who are experiencing food insecurity never have to go hungry at Cal State Fullerton. The Associated Students Inc. Food Pantry is a free and permanent service for currently enrolled students. The 700-square-foot pantry in the Titan Student Union is open Monday through Friday and is stocked with produce, frozen and canned foods, and freshly prepared meals, all with the support of key partners, including the Fullerton Arboretum.
When it opened in 2021, CSUF’s food pantry served about 100 students each week, but that number has since climbed to 600 per week, said Kristen Johansson, a graduate student who is about to get her master’s degree in public health and who works part time in the pantry. She records how many students come to the food pantry each week and how many total visits the food pantry gets each month.
The pantry will move into a bigger space by the beginning of the next school year to accommodate the increased number of students who use it.
“A lot of our students have many responsibilities — they’re working, they’re students, they’re parents — and they don’t always have money for all their basic needs,” said pantry coordinator Bernadett Leggis, who added that inflation is a contributing factor for the growing number of students who need the food pantry. Whenever possible, Leggis and her team help students connect with the Cal Fresh program, which provides food benefits to low-income families.
The United States Department of Agriculture defines two degrees of food insecurity. “Low food insecurity” means a person’s diet lacks quality, variety, or desirability. “Very low food insecurity” is when a person’s eating patterns are disrupted and food intake is reduced.
“Produce is really a necessity for students, and they request it, so we do our best to give them produce options,” Johansson said. Depending on the season, the Fullerton Arboretum provides the ASI Food Pantry…
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