“I believe that we have a lot of hungry students out here,” Nona Claypool said, “and by uniting resources we can help students meet their needs and worry less about where nutritional food is coming from while they’re attempting to receive an education.”

Claypool, the president of the Associated Students of Laney College (ASLC), has done groundbreaking work to establish the Laney Food Bank that students facing food insecurity need.

It is hosted in the Quad or in the Student Center every first and third Tuesday of the month, starting at 2 p.m., until they run out of food.

Claypool has been working tirelessly for the past two years to implement this important program for the students, and we must take notice. This collaborative effort was made possible by some members of the Peralta District, including student trustees and the Restoring Our Communities Initiative (ROCI) program.

The ASLC will 
create student jobs through paid positions at the food bank.
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The ROCI is an active Laney organization by and for formerly incarcerated students, which has been active for a year. The ROCI is the brother-sister program to the Underground Scholars program at UC Berkeley.

The ROCI jump-started their initiative by doing a small food pantry giveaway that distributed granola bars and apples to students in class. The ASLC took over and began bulk distribution.

Alameda County allocates a variety of fruits and vegetables in various quantities. On May 16, they distributed ten-pound bags of produce including carrots, honeydew melon, and apples. They also added a pork dumpling meal similar to the Blue Apron meal delivery service.

To have access to the Laney Food Bank you must be a Laney student with a student ID. If you don’t have one you can get it free at the admissions office (A109).

The ASLC is doing more than just the food bank. “[The Laney Campus] has been killing it this year with the feeding programs we have like Green Monday’s (hosted by the Laney Culinary Arts Club) and we have homeless toiletry kits that we’ll be giving away.”

The ASLC is full of student senators who volunteer for the Food Bank. Andy Tran has been a member for two years, Cory Hollis has been active for over a month, and Iesha Jordan nearly two months.

“I’m on a mission!” Jordan said. “Seeing the effort we invest to support fellow students has made us a better community.”

This ASLC further commits to creating student jobs by adding five additional paid positions for the food bank, setting a great example for student leaders.