Pushing a full-size grocery cart through numerous aisles stocked with essential food and hygiene options is a great way to spend some time.
Hopefully, you take a few moments to shop healthy and fuel an active lifestyle.
That might sound like a scenario playing out across Texas grocery stores, but it’s also happening daily on campus at Lee College in Baytown.
Oh, it’s also free for enrolled students.
The program
Lee College’s Student Resource & Advocacy Center features a food market modeled like a traditional grocery store that is available for use by students Monday through Friday.
Each Lee College student can shop at the facility twice a month and leave with up to 50 pounds of products, all free of charge. The market offers a large selection of items from canned goods, snacks, perishables, cold/frozen items, baby supplies and more.
Thanks to a robust network of sponsors and supporters led by Houston Food Bank, the selections change as new supplies are stocked.
Kelli Forde Spiers is an associate vice president with the college. She leads student success and belonging efforts. She credits the market as one of the largest such efforts at a college or university in the State of Texas.
“When students walk in, they often say it’s like a mini-HEB, because it really does feel like you’re walking into a grocery store,” Spiers said. “Students get to self-select the items that want. We have fresh produce. We have a freezer with meat and frozen vegetables and then a refrigerator with cheese, dairy, milk, eggs, depending on what we receive from the Houston Food Bank.”
There is a whole aisle devoted to shampoo, toothpaste, diapers and wipes because those are fundamental needs for many students.
Other than enrollment, there are no prerequisites during sign up. School officials are intent on destigmatizing college programs and welcome all to participate.
Students check in each time they come to shop. Before leaving, all products are weighed and reported for Houston Food Bank record keeping.
According to Spiers, Lee College’s Student Resource & Advocacy Center, which includes the food market, was renovated to consolidate the services that may bring negative connotations.
“I often say our student center is like the heart of campus,” she shares. “Once students have gotten enrolled in classes, they have their financial aid figured out, they know what classes they’re going to take, this is the building where students are when they’re not in class typically.
“So, we have our game room, which is definitely more of the social and fun side. We have lots of events that go on in there. We provide a lot of free food, activities and things, so that really is an enticement to get students in the building. But right next to that is our TRiO office. And then right next to that is our learning hub. That’s another area there often is a stigma with, like if I need tutoring or need extra help in a class, maybe that means I’m not smart enough to be here. We’ve put those intentionally all together to try to reduce that stigma.”
Messaging to students is about function and normalcy.
Regular biweekly grocery shopping is stressed, while terms like food pantry, handouts and food boxes are not used.
Outreach to students takes place in all communications. The message is shared in every new student orientation.
“We go to classroom visits,” Spiers said. “We’re across campus, and what we say is just, ‘we’re here to help. We care about you as humans.’ I often try to say, instead of ‘if you need it, it’s when you need it, we’ll be here.’ We’re trying to ingrain that this is a service for all students. It’s natural.”
Impact and collaboration
More than 1,700 unique students came through the Student Resource & Advocacy Center by mid Spring, records indicate. Those numbers speak for themselves on a campus with just under 9,000 total students.
Outside of the Houston Food Bank, the college also accepts supply and monetary donations. There is great support from area Kiwanis and Pilot clubs, as well as other organizations, schools and businesses.
Vanessa Ortiz serves as the Houston Food Bank school partnerships supervisor and describes the Lee College collaboration as “absolutely fantastic.”
“Every week they’re doing an intake process for all of the students that they serve, and we can see their numbers on our end,” she said. “They’re also giving us the monthly report and then a quarterly qualitative report, which includes quotes from students, maybe some videos, pictures, just so that we can get an idea because people aren’t just numbers. We want to hear how it affects them, how it’s helping in their journey of education, how it’s going beyond just the student and touching their family members.”
