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FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - Organizers and officials astatine Fresno City College accidental they are taking enactment arsenic a susceptible conception of their pupil colonisation could perchance spot their nutrient assistance being cut.
Fresno City College's Dr. Kizzy Lopez oversees programs that assistance students with housing, food, and intelligence wellness services. Lopez says that done Fresno City College's rental pathway program, students tin entree up to 12 months of rental assistance.
Through the campus's nutrient assistance programme for students, the Ram Pantry, students tin entree escaped food, including caller produce, ingredients, and frozen food.
"More than fractional of students request immoderate benignant of assistance with their basal needs," Lopez said. "There are radical that are truly struggling and hurting. That includes radical who spell to college."
According to Lopez, the Ram Pantry sees up to 1,000 students daily.
"That whitethorn beryllium what immoderate pantries spot successful a week oregon successful a month," Lopez said.
Anthony Cunha is the Senior Program Specialist of Fresno City College's Extended Opportunities and Program Services office. He says, contempt the assorted resources disposable to students, galore of them are inactive acrophobic and fearful.
"The archetypal absorption was, you know, fearfulness of the unknown," Cunha said. "It's nary secret. We cognize with the existent authorities of the federation that determination was going to beryllium immoderate benignant of slowdown oregon stoppage."
Due to the menace that the chopped of nutrient assistance poses to students, Cunha and Lopez accidental their main priorities starring into November are ensuring that students cognize however to entree the services disposable to them and keeping those services active.
"So I deliberation erstwhile we person those types of conversations, we conscionable just it with reassurance. We are proactive, not reactive," Cunha said.
"Some of the ways we're trying to conscionable the request for this November is to marque definite that the resources that we curate arsenic a field are shared campus-wide with each the employees, students, and arsenic broadly arsenic we tin successful the community," Lopez said.
Cuhna says he's been capable to assistance bring consciousness to students and the assemblage astatine ample done social media posts detailing nutrient services unfastened to the nationalist each week long.
"We wanted to get the assets retired to our students connected a platform. We cognize what they're usually on, which is societal media," Cunha said. "We gathered immoderate accusation and we enactment it retired determination and we were conscionable blown distant by the [positive] response."
But Lopez says that consciousness is lone fractional the battle.
"There's an important telephone to enactment this November. Cal Fresh volition not beryllium disposable for a batch of students and a batch of individuals who request it," Lopez said.
"We request the assemblage to travel alongside Fresno City College, providing dry, stable, shelf-stable nutrient due to the fact that we are going to spot an accrued request for individuals who not lone payment from our pantry, but are not going to person EBT this November."
Lopez says nary donation is excessively tiny and there's much than 1 mode to donate.
"Fresno City College volition beryllium reaching retired to section restaurants, organizations, and faith-based organizations to inquire for nutrient donations to assistance conscionable the need," Lopez said.
To donate to Fresno City College successful 1 mode oregon another, anyone funny is urged to interaction the Basic Needs Center via email astatine basicneeds@fresnocitycollege.edu.
