At UC Santa Cruz, 58 percent of students experience low or very low food security. That is ten points higher than the average across all UC campuses. 
“If you don’t have money, you’re not going to get food,” said Andrea Guzman, a Redwood Free Market employee and third-year sociology student. “If you don’t have a car, you’re not going to get food. If you don’t have an apartment and a kitchen — it’s impossible.”
UCSC Basic Needs hosted its third annual fair on May 15 from noon to 4 p.m. This year, the Renaissance-themed event welcomed over 200 students into the Quarry Amphitheater with medieval remixes of pop songs playing from the stage’s speakers and staffers dressed in long dresses and corsets.
The goal of the fair was to bring more awareness to the resources available for students who may be experiencing food or housing insecurity. The UCSC Basic Needs team works with over 20 partner programs across campus to help address students’ food, housing and financial needs.
“Living in Santa Cruz especially, it’s really expensive,” said Jacob Klein, Redwood Free Market admin assistant and third-year environmental science major. “A lot of people can’t afford to have nice groceries like produce [or] proteins. The basic needs [programs] really help stretch people’s grocery budget. People say that we’re the reason they’re able to eat that day.”
Gracieana Calabrese and Via Katz are second-year students in the Food Systems Working Group (FSWG). Their “Real Food Challenge” informs students about “real food” on campus, which made up only 13.6 percent of food last year.
Event attendees visited tables lining the amphitheater seats, chatting with staff, taking handouts and zines with information and resources. At the tables, students could receive toothbrushes and floss from Student Health Services, or pick from the Produce Pop-Up’s wide selection of fresh veggies and dry goods.
Aside from learning about basic needs, attendees played giant jenga, cornhole and participated in medieval combat games at the stage. Students also got their faces painted or brought shirts and tote bags to be screen printed.
Klein and other student staff from basic needs programs, such as the Redwood Free Market, have been preparing for the fair since the start of spring quarter.
“I enjoy planning events because it tells students about what we do and what they have available to them, because a lot of people don’t know that we have so many resources for them,” Klein said. “It also helps build community; it makes people feel safer there and like they belong.”
A student bags fresh carrots from the Produce Pop-Up stand, also offering kale, green onions, and other vegetables.
The basic needs services provided by UCSC are especially vital for undocumented students, who can’t qualify for federal assistance programs like CalFresh or EBT. For Andrea Guzman, her status means that she couldn’t apply for certain campus jobs; however, she could work at Redwood Free Market while being undocumented.
“At least we have these resources. At least we have these spaces. If it wasn’t for this, I literally would be hungry,” Guzman said. “I wouldn’t have any food in my stomach. I wouldn’t have a job. Where else am I [going to] apply?”
Even with the pervasive presence of food insecurity at UCSC, Guzman said she has noticed that many students are hesitant to use basic needs resources.
“A lot of people are afraid to come to the pantry sometimes because they don’t think their situation is as bad as others,” Guzman said. “We really try to reduce stigmas [around] going to a food pantry, because anyone can come.”
At the federal level, the GOP is moving to overhaul food benefits so that states would be forced to assume more of the costs. For California, this means that CalFresh, a federally-funded assistance program, would face cuts if the state is unable to cover an increased share of benefits.
Estefania Rodriguez, the director of UCSC Basic Needs, is worried about these potential cuts to CalFresh. Other than the staff’s salaries, UCSC Basic Needs is funded by the state, not the university.
With 50 percent of undergraduate students reporting that the cost of UCSC is unmanageable, access to basic needs is crucial in ensuring access to higher education for all students, regardless of income.
“From my perspective, basic needs is a way to help students stay in school so that they can finish and get their degree and move on to bigger and better things,” Rodriguez said. “Obviously basic needs insecurities exist, and so we’re here to help with that. It’s important for students to have food and housing and access to all the things they need.”
A student browses the Produce Pop-Up stand offering canned goods and other non-perishable items.
