As Hartnell College concludes its six-week 2020 TRiO Upward Bound Summer Program to
prepare low-income and first-generation Salinas high school students for college success,
staff have distributed tens of thousands of dollars in food assistance to them and
their families.
In previous years, before Upward Bound went online this summer because of COVID-19, students were given a nutritious breakfast and lunch every weekday while attending classes on Hartnell’s Main Campus in Salinas, comparable to meals they may have received during the school year.
“We thought it was the best way to make sure our students are still getting the nutrition they need,” said Cesar Velazquez, director of the TRiO Upward Bound program at Hartnell.
When this year’s Upward Bound summer session moved online, from mid-June through August, the college looked for a way to continue that nutrition support from the U.S. Department of Education, which works out to $20 a day for each participant.
Official approval came in June to give the meal money directly to students, and Upward Bound has since been distributing $100 Safeway gift cards to them and their families – one for each week of successful participation in classes and activities, for an average of about $500 per student.
Safeway gave Hartnell a 5 percent discount on the cards’ face value, so the federal dollars went even further.
Sixty students from Alisal, Everett Alvarez and North Salinas high schools were enrolled in Upward Bound at Hartnell this summer. The students, ages 14-18, completed online classes for college credit in counseling and either communications or astronomy and joined workshops on such things as test-taking and study skills. They also were required to participate in a daily online tutorial with Hartnell’s Panther Learning Lab and check in with program staff.
Upward Bound staff made the last distribution of grocery cards on Sept. 3, giving them to students and parents along with school supplies, thermal mugs and T-shirts.
Velazquez said he was careful to make sure parents were aware of the cards and the intent that they be used to provide healthy meals for the students and address any food insecurities over the summer.
“Twenty dollars a day goes a long way if they buy food at a grocery store,” he said.
Upward Bound parent Angela Torres Vargas, whose daughter attends Everett Alvarez High School in Salinas, said the grocery cards have made a big difference for her family.
“This has been a great relief to parents like myself because it allows us to continue providing food without having to worry about budgeting for food expenses,” Vargas said. "In these difficult times more than ever, it means a lot that programs care about the well-being of students and their families.”
Hartnell Governing Board President Aurelio Salazar Jr. praised the staff’s creativity in finding a way to put the meal funds to use while students were studying at home.
“This not only provides a benefit for the students and their families, but also makes a community-wide impact as well,” Salazar said. “We know many families are struggling right now because of COVID, so this type of direct support is more needed than ever.”