SANTA MONICA— On January 6, 2021, Santa Monica College (SMC), which is located at 1900 Pico Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90405, will have a food pantry pop-up drive-thru. It will be located at lot #1, which is behind the science building.
This event will be held every Wednesday from 12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. (or until supplies last), rain or shine. Requirements include proof of current enrollment (SMC ID). Students are limited to one bag per person or until supplies last. All students must wear face coverings, and mandatory social distancing will be enforced.
Sponsors include: Sunrise Produce, Westside Food Bank, Venice Family Clinic, The Butter End Cakery, Everytable, SMC Foundation, and Vicente Foods. Sunrise Produce will provide individually packaged produce boxes with an assortment of fresh fruits and vegetables. This will be in addition to produce provided by Westside Food Bank and Vicente Foods.
This is not the first time SMC has started a weekly drive-thru pop-up pantry. One was also held in April 2020. The drive-thru pantry was designed as an alternative to on-campus food resources that were inaccessible due to campus closures during the COVID-19 crisis. SMC Superintendent/President Dr. Kathryn E. Jeffery said that the college’s goal is to ensure that students know, and feel, that SMC is here to support them. “It is hard for students to focus on classes when they are hungry!”
In that pop-up pantry, 250 bags of non-perishable food items and groceries from Westside Food Bank and SMC’s donor-supported food closets were handed out as well as 500 meals from social enterprise Everytable. Cupcakes from The Butter End Cakery were also offered at the pantry.
