CSUEB Students Give Back to the Community This Holiday Season
- November 24, 2015
Cal State East Bay students are supporting the Alameda County Food Bank — as well as each other — this Thanksgiving.
For the second consecutive year, CSUEB’s Residence Hall Association has teamed with Aramark Corp. to give students the option of donating "missed meals" — meals they have already paid for through their campus meal plans, but will go unused during the holiday break.
This year, however, instead of all the donations going to the Alameda County Food Bank, a quarter of the meals collected will be retained for an “on-campus pantry” to help homeless and hungry CSUEB students.
“I am really proud to see that our residents recognize that homelessness and hunger impact college students at a rate that seems to be growing across the nation,” said Martin Castillo, associate vice president for student affairs and director of university housing and dining services. “By retaining a portion of the donated meals, our university will be able to provide support for our own student community.”
As of Monday night, 1,479 meals had been donated. Meals reserved for the food bank will be converted into a dollar amount, which will be used to purchase non-perishable goods. The meals intended for the on-campus pantry will remain dining hall meals that will be allotted to students in need.