CSUMB rolls out new program to help connect students with food

California State University Monterey Bay is rolling out a program to alert student when there is free food available on campus.

The program is called Otter Eats, where students can text the word “EATS” to the number given by CSUMB and they will receive alerts on their phone when food is available on campus.

“Which is an opt in texting feature, so the students will have to opt in on their own and based on that we’ll be able to send them out alerts letting them know when there is a food related event. So if it’s a food pantry day just reminding them, and then we are working with our catering department to develop a way to get extra foo at the end of events, we have a lot of events on campus where there is not all the food is eaten that has been ordered,” says Joanna Snawder-Manzo, the Care Manager with the Dean of Students Office.

Snawder-Manzo says the only requirement, “it’s geared toward students, so that is the requirement because this is part of the benefit of them being a student here.”

Officials say they are continuing to work on ways to get students connected with those basic needs because they know a lot of them struggle.

“We actually had a higher percentage than the overall system of students who expressed a need for food. We were around 50% of either low food security or very low food security, very low meaning students who don’t know where their next meal is going to come from,” says Snawder-Manzo.

For more information on the food pantry program or Otter Eats and how to sign up click here.