The Trump Administration’s mixed messages on the late funding for SNAP benefits has left LBCC students like Juan Rosales, who is a SNAP recipient already struggling with food insecurity, with more uncertainty than ever.
Rosales frequents the Viking Vault at LAC, and shared he’s been forced to think about how to stay afloat after the initial SNAP cut, saying he’s “already in survival mode as of right now trying to find part-time jobs that also agree with the student schedule.”
He plans on subsisting on ramen while utilizing a website that gives recipes based on ingredients he sources from the vault and feels as if he can’t afford to think negatively even in his time of need.
“If I ruminate and dwell on it, then I’m gonna be focusing on that rather than my studies and where I’m gonna get food or this or that. So it’s extremely upsetting but there’s really only one way forward, … Because if I’m just sitting here like, ‘Oh, those damn government people or whatever, damn Trump, damn this, damn that,’ when I could, instead of saying damn everyone, be asking or looking or trying to figure something out. So, it sucks, it’s really unfortunate, but I’m trying to make the best out of a crappy situation as best as I can,” Rosales said.
Basic Needs Director Justin Mendez hopes to be able implement new changes that allows the vaults to provide more resources and opportunities.
“We did get an increase in specific funding right now for November, so we are gonna try to purchase more food to get more stuff on shelves anticipating the higher need for our students. … ASB wants to try and see if we can stay open on Fridays now which we usually aren’t, so that’s something we’ve been working on to see if it’s possible,” Mendez said.
SNAP funding is currently halved and delayed following a court order by two judges to use emergency funds on Friday and mixed messages from the Trump Administration on Tuesday, with SNAP recipients expecting to navigate a lack of funds regardless for November.
The LAC Viking Vault underwent renovations that replaced its shelves to hold more items, announcing on Saturday it will be closed on Monday, and reopened on Tuesday.
Students browse the offerings at the LAC Viking Vault on Tuesday in the B Building. The cubbies on the new shelves are used to hold smaller, loose items, while the metal shelves hold larger items. (Rafael Gomez)
“We’ve been waiting for them since the summer, and so they just happened to get here at the end of last week. I thought we were going to have to close for a whole week to get everything ready, but thankfully our team worked really hard. They built most of it (over the weekend), it was bad timing that it happened to be on Monday,” Mendez said
Regarding the LAC vault being closed on Monday, Rosales did not feel strongly about it, and said what mattered most was ability to come into the vault the following day without complications.
“It means a lot to me, it holds a personal place in my heart because it allows me to be able to continue my education without worrying about the basic things like that, … I’m grateful they were able to take the time to renovate the facilities so that they look like a proper little grocery store. It is unfortunate that I did have to scrounge around and make do with what I could that day, but I’m grateful that they’re even open to begin with, it’s not something I am expecting, so for them to even have the generosity to be offering all these things. I’m grateful even if they have to be down one day, even if they could have managed it a bit better. It is what it is as long as they can keep helping out. The student is the more important part to me. … Now I have a full bag of things I didn’t think that I was even ever going to get from here, like toothpaste,” Rosales said.
Mendez said that the Viking Vault will continue to serve students while also operating under this year’s tighter financial conditions, which is why the vaults currently adhere to a one type of item per person rule this semester, and expected pressures from the SNAP delay.
LAC ICC Vice President Usama Habash, right, and student May Tablang browse the food items offered at the LAC Viking Vault on Tuesday. The new shelves increased the carrying capacity of the vault, and there are plans to offer more types of food item to compensate for the SNAP delay. (Rafael Gomez)
“I’m not trying to operate from uncertainties. We’re operating in the understanding that SNAP is not going to happen,” Mendez said. “We’re trying to be more strategic in our ordering and things like that. For example, we would have Arizona teas or something and so maybe now, instead of sparkling waters and the Arizona teas it’s going to be smaller juices. … We have our weekly orders and we try to ration it out because we’d hear all the time that our students get upset when they come on a Thursday and there’s nothing for them. … We’re trying to sustain our budget and try to make it fair and ration out our food with how often we’re putting it on the shelves.”
Basic Needs Assistant Christian Davis said partnerships with local businesses have been key in keeping the Viking Vault stocked and students supported, and plans for more free food opportunities on campus are in the works.
“We work with Grocery Outlet to provide a discount to students, the one specifically on 7th Street. That’s where we get our food from, so they can either come and get a coupon from us that is reusable throughout the rest of the year, or we can give you a digital one. … It’s five percent off per item as long as you’re a student. We still get our food every Wednesday from Lola’s, they provide up to 50 hot meals a week and then we are also working on a partnership with the restaurant named Nick the Greek. They do Greek food and they’re going to be working with us and the Port of Long Beach to provide more food for students here as well,” Davis said.
The Viking Vault is located at B-103 at LAC and open from Monday through Thursday, and at the GG-Cafeteria at TTC from Tuesday to Thursday.
Both locations are open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for every open day.
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