On Nov. 14, San Jose State University students lined up in a queue that wrapped around the Event Center and ended near the newest residential building, Campus Village Building 2. The students were not lined up for a concert but were gathered for Second Harvest Food Bank’s Just In Time Pantry. Partnering with the nonprofit food bank, SJSU volunteers handed out more than 15,000 pounds of food to nearly 600 students through a mobile pantry that offered fresh foods and dry goods.

“If you’re hungry and you don’t know where your next meal is going to come from that’s, of course, going to impact your ability to concentrate in the classroom and prepare for midterms,” said Sharon Willey, the AVP for enrollment services.

The monthly mobile pantry for November received coverage by ABC7 News, who interviewed volunteers and students. To qualify for the pantry, students had to be enrolled full time and earn an annual income of less than $23,450.

In addition to Second Harvest Food Bank’s Just In Time Pantry, SJSU has a list of food resources for students, including on-campus pantries that are stocked with dry and canned goods. After SJSU’s Student Hunger Committee conducted a survey that revealed one in three students at SJSU experienced ongoing food insecurity, the committee worked with University Advancement to create SJSU’s Student Hunger Fund where donations can be made to support food resources. As part of its Academic Affairs Staff Appreciation Breakfast, staff and administrators raised more than $11,000 for the fund in the last two years.

“Every donation will help our students focus on their studies instead of where they will get their next meal,” Feinstein said when announcing the total raised this year at the Oct. 31 breakfast. “Every dollar you donated will go directly to help our students meet basic needs.”