From their start a century ago, community colleges’ mission has been making education accessible to everyone.
The West Valley-Mission Community College District (WVMCCD) has long led the way in its definition of making education accessible; offering health care, food pantry and child care.
Last month, in a Mission College ribbon-cutting, WVMCCD debuted its Free Cafés, where there’s no charge for food. The first-of-its-kind $10.8 million program was paid for by local property taxes, and rolled out in 74 days.
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“This is about removing one of the quietest but most painful barriers to success,” said Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gillmor. “It’s about equity. It’s about health. It’s about making sure that students can focus on their goals and their dreams, not on where their next meal will come from.”
Thomas Cuisine, the café operator, isn’t just a vendor. Thomas also shares the mission.
“From day one, we saw an alignment with our values,” said Thomas Cuisine VP of Operations Willie Cho. “We wanted to be a part of this revolution in providing a free meal program to students [who] were struggling with food insecurity.”
College student food insecurity is growing, the federal Department of Education reported in 2023.
“Over my 20 years in higher education, I’ve met students who’ve gone without eating for days,” said Mission College president Seher Awan. “They weren’t sure where their next meal would come from, or had to make the choices between paying rent or eating. It’s not just food. The ability to share meals with friends brings a sense of belonging.”
During the 2020 COVID pandemic, the Santa Clara Unified School District began offering free meals for all students.
“The program started because the district recognized that so many people who need the help refused to identify themselves as needing the help, because there was so much shame around it,” said WVMCCD board chair Ann Kepner.
“So instead of having children go hungry,” she continued, “the decision was made to offer free meals to all of the students. But none of this is possible without the support of the community.”
Student Trustee Jonah Pirnejad saw the social impact of food insecurity when a fellow student avoided joining other students for meals. When Pirnejad asked why his classmate didn’t join the group after class, the young man told him that he didn’t have the money to eat in the cafeteria.
Pirnejad paid for his classmate’s meal and made sure that the young man was included in the mealtime get-togethers.
“Go the day without food, see how you function,” Pirnejad said. “See how difficult it is to move, to walk, to think. Now imagine doing that while taking biology, chemistry, physics, mechanical engineering courses. You’d be drowning.”
The Free Café was born in 2014 when WVMCCD Chancellor Brad Davis discovered three soccer players unable to afford food before a state finals game in 2014.
“You can’t play a competitive game without eating,” said Davis, who made sure the players were able to eat during the tournament.
Davis began exploring ways to ameliorate student hunger. One result was a mobile food pantry, providing free groceries for students.
“We did a survey of over 2,000 students,” said Davis. “Those students were clear: they needed help with food. In the first nine days that the cafeterias were open, we served 22,000 free meals to our students.”
Davis circles back to the core community college mission.
“Our communities are stronger when we take care of students and don’t leave talent on the sidelines. Talent is equitably distributed, but opportunity is not,” he said. “That’s talent that we need to remain successful.”
Carolyn Schuk can be reached at carolyn@santaclaraweekly.com.
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