By The Basic Needs Program held a pop-up on Feb. 12 to inform students about the program’s resources. Due to ongoing rain, the event was inside the USU near the exit of the Beach Pantry instead of The Outpost Grill Lawn.
The pop-up included free servings of kale chips snacks, hygiene kits (given with the completion of a nutrition survey), food trivia for free samples, stickers, pamphlets and bookmarks with information about CalFresh.
Erin Boyd, a CalFresh healthy living trainer, said that during the Basic Needs pop-up event on Feb. 5, meal kits were distributed with the help of CalFresh Healthy Living. The goal for the Feb. 12 pop-up was to give out at least 30 hygiene kits. The program ended up doing just that as it neared the end of the pop-up.
“We give bookmarks [with information about CalFresh], and if they’d like to make an appointment for a pre-screen, they can ’cause we know that a lot of students are on the go,” Gissel Rubio, a CalFresh assistant, said.
The purpose of the Basic Needs pop-ups are to make students aware of the numerous resources the Basic Needs program provides, such as:
- Housing resources
- Job navigation
- Financial literacy
- Budgeting
- Caseworkers who work alongside students
- Medical grants
- Emergency grants are available for students facing unforeseen situations, such as a car crash or medical expenses they cannot afford.
“The case workers actually help you find an apartment; they give vouchers for students to stay at hotels if you’re homeless or getting evicted,” Rubio said.
Some students at the pop-up were surprised by all of the resources the program can offer.
Rubio said the program wants to help students strive in academics, achieve better in school and give them motivation that someone is there for them.
The program’s team also wants students to know that they are not alone in their situations, and the program provides resources to help them.
“It’s OK to ask for help and to not be OK,” Rubio said, hoping to get more students to come by the Basic Needs pop-up and take advantage of the resources and people willing to help.
“It’s OK not to be OK,” Abby Carmona, CalFresh assistant, said.
The next Basic Needs pop-up is set for Feb. 19 at The Office of Belonging and Inclusion Patio from noon to 2 p.m.
Editor’s note: Corrected several grammatical and AP Style errors on Feb. 14, at 3:36 p.m.
