Reporter

The Community Action Partnership of Kern partnered with CSU Bakersfield and Associated Students Inc. to distribute provisions of healthy food to students free of charge at Parking Lot M on Nov. 21.

The drive was funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which organized 104 sets of food for each student who showed up to the event.

The sets included items such as jars of peanut butter, a bag of oranges, fruit juice, rice, bread and other healthy foods.

CSUB students were the main attendees of the drive, but the volunteers wanted it to be known that this event was not just limited to just them.

“Our purpose is to capture anybody on this side of town not just the CSUB community who has a need for food,” said Assistant to the Vice President of Student Affairs Suzette Tischmacher.

Tischmacher said that it starts with just food and the items will differ every month.

“There’s only one other type of food drive of this kind [on the] southwest part of town and that was part of the reason CAPK was interested in partnering with CSUB,” said ASI Executive Director Ilaria Pesco.

The drive aimed to help students and Bakersfield residents since the holidays are just around the corner.

The CAPK food drive personnel advertised the event through fliers and small billboards located around the campus.

Starting Feb. 20, similar drives will be had the third Monday of each month for the next three months.

Some students who attended the event even mentioned that they heard about it through social media and emails sent out by ASI.

Students who signed-in took surveys questioning them on the sizes of their household as well as if this is the first time they attended an event of this kind.

The surveys will be used in planning the other drives.

Other resources offered by CAPK include CalFresh application assistance, housing assistance, counseling services and more.

For a full list of services available in Kern County visit www.211kerncounty.org.