Senate Executive Meeting
March 25, 2016
AGENDA ITEM 4.4
From: Schweickert, Mary
Sent: Monday, March 21, 2016 4:21 PM
To: Wolfsen, Connie
Cc: 'Jennifer.Quigley@humboldt.edu'
Subject: Next Academic Senate meeting
Dear Connie,
I am an Associate Faculty Counselor in the EOPS Department at College of the Redwoods. I am also
supervising an HSU MSW intern who is working on a number of projects at CR. Her name is Jenny
Quigley. One of her internship goals was to educate CR students who are affected by food insecurity
how to access and enroll in the Humboldt County Cal Fresh program, formerly known as “Food
Stamps.” Since then, our goals have gotten bigger and we are creating a plan to open a student led food
pantry/resource center on the Eureka campus.
We would like to approach the Academic Senate with this idea and to ask for assistance in a number of
ways. Right now we need help with figuring out where the pantry could be located on the Eureka
campus that makes the most sense. We are open to any suggestions, ideas, support from the Academic
Senate as well. See our informational attachment with this email.
We are wondering what the best way is to enlist your support. Since our goal is still in the planning
stage, we didn’t know if we should ask to be put on the agenda or if we could share in the beginning
where public comments are taken. We also are wondering when and where your next Academic Senate
will be held?
Thank you for your assistance.
Mary Schweickert
EOPS Counselor
College of the Redwoods
(707)476-4188
Senate Executive Meeting
March 25, 2016
AGENDA ITEM 4.4
March 15, 2016
College of the Redwoods Food Pantry
California community colleges often serve low-income college students who often have many
life challenges and tend to be an underserved population in the emergency food system. Our
message to CR students is education is a prerequisite to economic and social advancement.
Today more and more people are focusing on college. For those of sufficient economic means
the college years are a time to establish direction and set out on a path to opportunity and
success, but for those of lesser economic means, the college years are often a struggle for the
same goal. That is why CR and Jenny Quigley, an HSU MSW student who is completing her
internship at CR, connected with Cal Fresh of Humboldt County to educate eligible students
about this food assistance program and to help students at CR to enroll who are eligible.
The staff and faculty at CR are becoming more aware of food insecurity/homelessness that some
students continue to face. We believe that these factors contribute to the success or failure of
these students to complete their educational goals. Consequently, the idea of creating a food
pantry at CR was born not only to help students with food insecurity, but to exist as a resource
center for many other services our students need assistance with such as homelessness, mental
health outreach, medical services, AOD, … The center could also serve as a place for students to
meet and connect with each other to establish broader student involvement on our campus.
The CR food pantry team has met with students and staff at HSU who have started a food pantry
as well as with local community resource centers for additional education and assistance to start
a student led food pantry at CR. In partnership with HSU, a food security survey was sent by
email to CR students. We hope to receive information about that survey in April, 2016. The CR
team is also working with Food for People on various events regarding food insecurity and the
CR Food Justice Club has been meeting since Fall2015 to bring awareness to these issues that
CR students face.
By Fall2016 semester, a team of individuals at CR are working towards having a food pantry in
place on the CR Eureka campus. The location of that pantry is still being determined. The food
pantry team is in the process of identifying potential fiscal sponsors, as well as how students who
need internships and others who are interested could participate as volunteers.