Los Medanos College students or other members of the campus community who may be experiencing financial insecurity can find help at the Marketplace, which offers basic needs like food, toiletries, and clothing. The Marketplace (formerly the Food Bank) was established in 2019 by English professor Scott Warfe and former Student Life Coordinator John Nguyen. It provides basic needs and is located along the concrete path by the Planetarium and across the Child Development Center. Marketplace is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Wednesdays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
“Those eligible to shop at the Marketplace would-be employees and currently enrolled college students at Los Medanos Community College,” said Megela Ohare, Basic Needs Program Coordinator.
There is a 15-food item limit for shoppers but there is no limit on how many pieces of clothing they can pick up. For the toiletries, it varies.
Historically, the marketplace has served a good portion of the student population. According to Ohare, “I would say, on average, we have 40-60 shoppers a day.”
Many students utilize the marketplace as a way to feed themselves on campus.
“When the cafeteria was closed during the summer, the Marketplace was here to kind of sustain me and make sure that I have enough energy for both my classes and my workout later in the day,” said Heidriani Nanon, an LMC student ambassador.
As well as students, more members of the LMC community go to the Marketplace to get their basic needs met.
Marketplace associate Jordan Ramey said they serve more than just the students.
“A wide variety of people, and even some professors that are shopping here that, you know, I wouldn’t think that I would see here.” He said. Ramey, who helps with the marketplace’s day-to-day operations, said they unload shipments and stack shelves until they open for customers.
“Once they arrive,” He said, customers are asked to, “sign in, have them show their IDs, which is important.” On Thursdays, Ramey said they throw out food that is expired or that will spoil before they reopen the following Tuesday.
One of the things Ohare would like to improve about the marketplace is its size. She said they need more space.
“We can only serve based upon the capacity that we have here. So, if I could change anything, it would be increasing our space, our capacity to serve people more,” She said.
Ohare also said The Marketplace trains its workers to help others with food outside their daily jobs.
“It’s also about developing the student associates that we work with. So, having them become more involved and more equipped to handle some of the people that come in or some of the resources that are requested,” Ohare said.
