An empty fridge never puts anyone in a good mood, particularly for college students who often juggle academics and many other obstacles in life at the same time. The common one today is hunger. To help decrease the number of individuals and families gone hungry, West Valley Community services, an organization located in Cupertino, partnered up years ago with West Valley College.
Four years ago, when Director of Student Needs Samantha Hernandez came to work here with the college, the students were still receiving a small number of grocery bags. Hernandez has since worked to greatly expand the resource. When Covid later hit our country, the Park-It Market — “which is a mobile food pantry, or more like a grocery store on wheels,” stated Assistant Manager of Mobile Operations Donald Akimoto — became an invaluable resource for food-insecure families, although its reach was limited.
“With the help of 2nd Harvest food bank, which is our largest food distribution here in Santa Clara county, we have been able to do a weekly food distribution that has been going on for almost three years. It takes place every Monday outside on parking lot 3 and we give out around three hundred boxes of groceries to career members and students,” stated Hernandez.
With hunger still being such a large issue, the college held another Park-It Market. The event took place on Thursday, September 28th in parking lot 2 from 1:45 p.m. until 3:15 p.m. Donald Akimoto, who has been with Park-It Market since 2021, said “I’m saving lives” when asked why such an event is important to him.
Akimotoalso stated, “People are taken aback that it’s free, so it’s nice to be able to give people things without expecting anything in return.”
Because of the demand for such an important need, with the help of the college and the administration, the team were able to open up their very own pantry, Roots. With Park-It Market taking place in the middle of the campus parking lot, Roots helps advertise it, stated Hernandez.
When asked why the event is important to students and community members, second year student Gabriel Aiden stated, “Any free food offered to a student is automatically a big win.”