Food, showers, health care and transportation offered at no cost to Owls
Citrus College has many free resources on campus to support students in need.
One resource is the mobile food pantry from the LA Food Bank. The first mobile food pantry came to Citrus in May 2017.
The food is free and donated by farmers and grocery chains including Trader Joe’s, Sam’s Club, Walmart, and Amazon. Citrus pays a $600 delivery fee per visit.
Student life supervisor Rosario Garcia said they get close to 200 students each visit.
“Sometimes you could actually be sitting in the classroom and the person right next to you could be homeless and you might have absolutely no idea that they are homeless,” Garcia said.
Mobile food truck driver and distributor Robert Mendez said the food can sustain a user for at least two days.
If all the food is not distributed, it is brought back to a warehouse in Los Angeles where expiration dates are checked to see if it can be redistributed.
The farthest the food pantry goes in Southern California is to Palmdale and Lancaster.
“I feel that a lot of people are struggling, especially with this economy,” Mendez said. “Everything is expensive.”
Citrus also offers three free food pantry around campus for students in need. There are no requisites or information asked to students who want to use them.
They are located in the Veterans Center, Foster Kinship office, and Student Health Center.
Showers also became available to students in spring 2017. Showers can be found in the PE building.
Students may also get toiletries including shampoo, soap, toothbrush or toothpaste from Extended Opportunity Programs and Services counselors or food pantry locations.
Garcia said she has them in her closet and distributes them to counselors.
“Usually students feel more comfortable disclosing that with counselors than with other people,” Garcia said.
The Student Health Center on the first floor of the SS building has free cold medicine, condoms and personal hygiene items.
Another free resource is a bus pass for students, Class Pass, which is available in the library.
The pass allows students to take the Foothill Transit bus for free during the semester. Full time students pay a tuition fee of $7 and part time students pay $6 to get the class pass.
During finals week, Citrus offers the Night Owls hosted by ASCC. This event gives out Scantrons, blue books and pencils to students. They also have snacks, pizza and coffee to students who come study in the Campus Center.
By attending the Night Owls week, students get a ticket every week day they go to the Campus Center.
On Thursday, the last day of the activity, the tickets are pulled in a drawing. Students can win a gift card to area restaurants.
“If they (students) do need them, I want them to use (the resources on campus),” Garcia said.
Criminal justice major Elena Gaitan comes to use the mobile food pantry.
“I like it because I don’t really have much income,” Gaitan said. “So it helps me.”
