The Student Cupboard debuted its new location to the Fresno State community with an open house on Friday.
The new location of the Student Cupboard is in the Industrial Technology Building, Room 144, on the southwest corner of Barstow Avenue and Jackson Drive.
“By all accounts, the relaunching of the cupboard was a success,” said Jessica Medina, office of the Vice President for Student Affairs project coordinator.
Medina said that hundreds of people showed up to the open house. “We had a lot of people come through, a lot of faculty, staff, administrators that came through that either knew about the program or didn’t know about it,” Medina said.
“Some professors on campus had their classes go to the open house, and a lot of students went on their own to learn about what the Student Cupboard provided,” Medina said.
Medina said that the new location of the Student Cupboard has already seen a rise in visitors. “More students went to the cupboard last week than had gone in a month and a half when the program first started last year,” Medina said.
“I think I’m going to have problems keeping food on our shelves at this point,” Medina said.
Operations assistant Brenda Hartman was also happy with the open house turnout. “I think it’s going to help spread the word that we exist, what our mission is, and hopefully, it’ll help to expand our donation base,” Hartman said
Medina is also excited about new additions coming to the Student Cupboard. A donor has purchased a three-door commercial refrigerator and a three-door commercial freezer to stock cold items, Medina said.
There is an aisle section with courses on how to eat healthy on a budget and other nutritional services. Another is filled with gluten-free items. Stickers on the shelves read “Take what you need and leave some for others.”
Teaching credential student Ludie Olenchalk, senior marketing student Haley Licciardello and senior social work student Alejandra Prado attended the Student Cupboard open house.
All three had heard of the cupboard through word-of-mouth, advertisements on campus and emails, but it was the first time for all three to actually visit the cupboard.
The new location of the Student Cupboard, which was previously at the old Farm Market, seemed to be a benefit.
“I like that it’s here on campus and really convenient,” Licciardello said. “I think it’s a good service to the students.”
Olenchalk said knowing any Fresno State student could use the cupboard, no questions asked, was a relief.
The Student Cupboard is open six days a week, from Sunday through Friday.
