Delta College is preparing for the winter through opportunities sponsored by its campus associations.
On Nov. 17 from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., the Associated Students of Delta College, in collaboration with Basic Needs Center, is hosting the Annual Holiday Meal Giveaway in the Food Pantry located in Shima 101.
As ASDC Senator of College and Community Relations, Gilberto Ramalho stated in an email interview, the inspiration for this giveaway was “the Holiday spirit and giving back to the students.”
Although the event is held annually, there have been changes to the giveaway itself.
This year, instead of ingredients or ready to make goods, students who RSVP’d to the event will receive packages called meals that will have a $45 gift card and a ready-to-eat pumpkin pie. Meals that aren’t claimed will be given to an extra 50 students on a waitlist for the event.
Ramalho said the shift stems from the desire to curate the giveaway to the needs of the students.
“The current giveaway in particular uniquely has eliminated donated goods inconsistencies, gives a gift card (more flexibility) as opposed to predetermined goods, and 2x more students than the previous drive of 100 recipients,” he said.
It is expected that 200 “meals” will be distributed to students who signed up for the event from Oct. 30 through Nov. 6.
Priority registration was given to students who were in the Pheonix Project, Guardian Scholars, CalWorks, and the NextUp programs at Delta. General registration was opened on Nov. 6 for students who are not a part of these programs.
Since the beginning of the semester, ASDC and the Basic Needs Center have hosted events of a smaller scale that provide students with fun activities like pumpkin painting and pizza or donut snacks in between hours.
“… As ASDC is partnering with Basic Needs the sky is the limit,” said Ramalho.
ASDC hopes to establish this event as a tradition with the collaboration of the Basic Needs Center. The goal is to promote the center’s resources to address and fulfill food or economic insecurities that Delta students may have.