Orange Coast College debuts official food pantry to help students fill nutrition gap

Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa debuted its first official food pantry Monday morning, offering fresh fruits, non-perishable items and basic necessities to help students fill their food needs.

Community members gathered in front of a former journalism classroom that houses the pantry to hear college administrators tell how they partnered with Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County to help address “food insecurity” on campus.

Food insecurity is defined as being without reliable access to a sufficient amount of affordable, nutritious food, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Elizabeth Blake, a nutrition and dietetics professor, was part of a group that met a year ago to begin the new pantry, called Pirates’ Cove after the school mascot.

A few days ago, Blake said, she was at a supermarket and overheard three college students excitedly discussing a sale on Cup Noodles.

She discreetly lingered to hear the conversation and watch them load their carts with the microwavable noodles as she recalled her “Top Ramen years.”

“Why do we think these years are an acceptable rite of passage for college students?” she said.

Guests explore Pirates’ Cove, a new food pantry at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa.

(Kevin Chang / Staff Photographer )

Students are fortunate in primary school, Blake said, but resources are “stretched to the maximum” in college when students — many of whom are on their own for the first time — are expected to fend for themselves.

Campuses across the University of California system have created food pantries as a way to address food insecurity among students.

In 2013, Orange Coast College — part of the Coast Community College District — informally created a food pantry in a storage closet on the fourth floor of Watson Hall. Students were allowed to take one bag a day of canned goods.

The pantry depended on donations and wasn’t widely promoted. The college said an average of about 50 students per month used it.

At Pirates’ Cove, Second Harvest Food Bank will deliver goods twice a week. The pantry is staffed by volunteers and faculty members.

The college said a use limit hasn’t been established.

Megan Lattimer, 32, a culinary arts student who has been homeless, talks Monday during the grand opening of Orange Coast College’s Pirates’ Cove food pantry about how the food program at OCC has improved her life.

(Kevin Chang / Staff Photographer )

Culinary arts student Megan Lattimer, 32, used the old pantry when she started at OCC in 2015.

Soon after, Lattimer said, she became homeless with her two children, and visiting the pantry became a necessity. In 2016, her car broke down and she “used every penny” to take Uber to school, she said.

“Having this Pirates’ Cove … is amazing,” Lattimer said. “Literally a granola bar or orange will make that difference on how you do on that test.”

Services at Pirates’ Cove also include housing referrals, appointments with the CalFresh food-buying assistance program from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesdays and assistance with basic needs.

The pantry is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays in Journalism 108. For more information, call (714) 432-6844.

Priscella.Vega@latimes.com

Twitter: @vegapriscella