Fresh Progress Report

This progress report was written by the FRESH student team and presented to Chabot administrators. This was about 2 years into the lifespan of FRESH and we can see the FRESH team had already branched out well past just food distribution. 

FRESH has served over 940 students and their families, which is more than 4000 people overall, in the 2-3 hour event we organize once a month. 4000+ people in 10 days. 

Preorders

  • FRESH was frequently asked to extend our hours or distribute food in two phases to give students who get out of class in the afternoon a chance to access the food. The demand was so high that, even though we controlled how much food people receive, there would not be enough food for people who could only come in the afternoon.

  • So, we organized and implemented a successful pre-order system, which allows students who are unable to come during the time frame to access this resource.

  • Additionally, the groceries can get very heavy. This system helps students who are unable to carry their groceries around campus. 

Food Demos

  • We hosted and continue to support food demos, where retired chefs from South Hayward Parish show students different ways of preparing the food distributed that month.

Education

  • We created our own educational materials that teach students about  how to live a healthy lifestyle. 

Heath and Dental

  • We connected students with the health and dental centers on campus.

  • The dental center gave us free samples of toothpaste and mouthwash to distribute each month. 

Clothing

  • In addition to distributing food, we organized a Winter Gear Exchange to provide students with jackets, scarves, and other warm clothing.

  • This spring, we are organizing a shoe drive that will eventually include clothing.

  • We plan to distribute prescription eyeglasses

  • The hope is to have a constant supply of clothes, so we'll always have clothing to distribute at our events. 

Job Opportunities

  • We have also done outreach in the community to provide students with job opportunities. Rising Sun tabled at the pantry last spring and summer and will be tabling again this year. 

Las Positas and Santa Rosa College 

  • We helped students from Las Positas and staff from Santa Rosa Junior College plan their own food pantry