400 Students Expected at Thanksgiving Food Drive, Nov. 24
Lisa McPheron
Director of Campus Communications
714-992-7014 | lmcpheron@fullcoll.edu
Fullerton College is expected to provide about 400 students with groceries and grocery gift cards during a special Thanksgiving food drive on Tuesday, November 24 from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. This is a 500 percent increase over past years and can be credited to the action the college has taken to provide extra support to students since COVID-19 closed the campus.
The holiday food drive will replace the Healthy Hornet Drive-Thru food distribution typically held on Thursdays in Staff Parking Lot A and 8. Donations in the form of grocery and Visa gift cards are being collected to directly support students at the event.
“Creativity and determination were necessary in developing this public, private, non-profit partnership that came together to serve the needs of Fullerton College students,” said Dana Timmermans, who oversees operations of the Fullerton College Food Bank. “We’re extremely thankful to our partners, Pathways of Hope and Sodexo, who will help us provide bags of groceries and seasonal food for students this Thanksgiving. It’s an honor to combine this effort with MEChA and Ethnic Studies, who have helped students this time of year for more than a generation.”
Since April, the Healthy Hornet Drive-Thru has served more than 8,000 students with weekly meal kits, groceries, personal hygiene products and other essential items, such as diapers and face coverings. This holiday, the drive-thru service will combine efforts with the Fall Harvest, a 51-year-old Fullerton College tradition led by MEChA de FC and the Ethnic Studies Department. The Fall Harvest traditionally has provided students with everything they need for a Thanksgiving meal.
“As you can imagine, there have been some major changes this year. Thankfully, we have plenty of seasonal foods this year, so we’re asking our campus community to donate grocery or Visa gift cards in any denomination through November 24,” said Ethnic Studies Department Chair Amber González.
Each student who signs up for the Thanksgiving food distribution will receive a grocery gift card to help with additional expenses.
Those wishing to donate a gift card may drop them off at the Healthy Hornet Drive-Thru on Nov. 19, and Nov. 24.
Students can sign up for the Thanksgiving food distribution beginning the afternoon of Thursday, Nov. 19 through noon on Monday, Nov. 23.
About Fullerton College: Founded in 1913, Fullerton College is the oldest community college in continuous operation in California. Fullerton College is a top transfer college to the California State University system and currently enrolls about 21,000 students. Due to COVID-19, the college remains mostly closed. The Library, tutoring, and all other student support programs are offering their services remotely through the fall semester. The only exceptions are a few in-person lab classes, athletic conditioning classes and modified student support services such as free Wi-Fi in Parking Lot 4, Healthy Hornet Drive-Thru, and Library, Laptop Loans and Bookstore curbside services.
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