The Los Medanos College food pantry has a Thanksgiving basket giveaway every to provide baskets of food to those who may be in need during the holiday season. Contra Costa Community College District closed all campuses during the Thanksgiving week, due to the poor air quality which subsequently impacted holiday donations. However, because participants RSVP’d during beforehand they will still receive their basket. The LMC food pantry reopened Monday Nov. 26 for the giveaways.

“Students RSVP a few weeks before in order to receive a basket. The basket this year consists of rotisserie chicken, apple cider, cheese and vegetables,” Student Life coordinator, John Nguyen explained.

The baskets were also given away all around the Contra Costa area. Most pick up locations were set up at churches, while others were set up at health services. Some required participants to sign up and pre-register for the baskets, while other places allowed people to just show up.

“The closure of the campus has affected the food pantry with us having to postpone our Thanksgiving basket event,” said LMC student Jessica Wilson who works in the Pantry.

Despite the closure, 30 students signed up to receive a basket. There is a form online at http://www.losmedanos.edu/foodpantry, but according to Wilson, students who didn’t sign up for a basket can still get one if they come to the pantry.

To qualify to receive a basket, one must be a currently registered LMC student and had not received a basket the previous semester.

Student Life’s canned food drive was also affected by the campus closure. They have also extended their event to Friday, Nov. 26. Anyone wanting to donate canned food can do so at both the pantry and the Office of Student Life. Student Life holds a canned food drive every semester.

For those who did not sign up for the Thanksgiving giveaway or who have a general need for food, the food pantry hosts pop-up food pantry events every Thursday in the Outdoor Quad. Students can also visit the LMC Food Pantry Mondays-Thursdays from 10 a.m to 6 p.m. and Fridays from 10 a.m to 3 p.m. The same qualifications apply for receiving food at the pantry as for the Thanksgiving basket giveaway.  

For questions or concerns, Student Life coordinator John Nguyen can be contacted by email at [email protected] or by phone at (925) 473-7758.