The CSU Bakersfield Food Pantry is planning on partnering with Dignity Health in a four-week health workshops.

Dignity Health will provide workshops for students that include meal planning, food labels, saving money and how to cook. There will be two separate tracks for each class and only 25 students will be able to attend each track.

“The programs outcome is for the students to leave with a better knowledge on budgeting and at the same time having learned the balances between healthy eating and meal planning,” said Luz Torres, program coordinator for the Community Wellness Program for Dignity Health.

The workshops are intended to provide students with information regarding healthy eating and send them in the direction of the food pantry. With the help of the CSUB Food Pantry, students will be able to acquire the necessary foods for doing so. 

“The lesson for saving money will tie in with the food pantry; if you can’t afford some of these items make sure to check out your local food pantry [here at CSUB],” said Alvidrez.

Through these healthy eating workshops, Torres hopes that, through partnering with the CSUB Food Pantry, “small changes will make a huge difference.”

This is not the first time the pantry is teaming up with Dignity Health. The CSUB Food Pantry was created in 2017 with a goal to provide CSUB students with free and available food when necessary. 

Dignity Health partnered with the pantry to provide students with information regarding healthy eating. This will be CSUB’s fourth nutrition program partnered with Dignity Health. 

CSUB Food Pantry Graduate Student Leader Keith Alvidrez said, “[The Food Pantry is] a service on-campus that allows students to access food. So it coincides with the whole concept that students need to not only eat healthy but learn how to.”

Student turnout at the food pantry has been increasing. 

“In our first year we probably averaged 150 [students] a week. Now we’re averaging 400 a week,” said Alvidrez.

He has high hopes for both the food pantry and the Dignity Health workshops. There has already been a large turnout for the three previous workshops and they’re expecting even more for this one.

All sessions will be from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.

The first lesson will be on Meal Planning on Monday March 18 and Tuesday March 19.

The following will be on Food Labels on March 25 and 26.

The third lesson will be on Saving Money on April 3.

The last lesson will be Cook a Meal on April 8 and 9.

To sign-up for these sessions email the lesson and date to [email protected].