Students Helping Students

It gave us the practical experience of recipe scaling and applying large-scale management operations skills, as well as allowed us to serve our local campus community and provide students with scratch-cooked, on-the-go, nutritious meals.

More than 400 prepared and packaged meals were donated to the Cal Poly Food Pantry during the winter and spring quarters by a group of students enrolled in a food service operations course, offered through the Cal Poly Food Science and Nutrition Department.

Students enrolled in the upper-level course, which teaches large-scale food production, created the recipes, prepared the food at the campus culinary lab, and packaged it for consumption. In the past, students put their skills to the test by catering a portion Cal Poly’s annual Open House event. However, this year, with those events held virtually, students pivoted the plan to support their fellow students in need.

“We wanted to donate the food to the Cal Poly Food Pantry because it helps give back to our own community,” said Briana Lewis, a third-year food science major who chose the major because it combines her two passions for cooking and chemistry.

The Cal Poly Food Pantry was launched by faculty and staff who saw an increasing number of students without the means to purchase basic food and supplies. The pantry serves students and university employees who might be experiencing food insecurity or other financial need. Visitors to the food pantry can choose from a wide variety of packaged and canned foods, fresh produce, frozen meals and personal hygiene products.

Oscar Velasco, AmeriCorps fellow and basic needs and food pantry coordinator, said the pantry works with campus partners such as the Cal Poly Farm and Campus Dining to expand the diversity of fresh produce and meals available to those in need. “We’ve learned that with the busy schedule of students, they often want something that is quick and easy,” said Velasco. “These donated meals provided a nutritious, easy grab-and-go meal option.”

In addition to learning large-scale food preparation, students learn the economic principles and problems involved in planning and preparing food using institutional equipment to meet specific product standards for large groups, said Lecturer Julie Chessen. Students are responsible for all the administrative tasks involved in an institutional setting related to food purchasing, such as taking inventory of goods, placing food orders, and preparing meals. Preparing the foods for the Cal Poly Food Pantry gave students the hands-on opportunity to execute their plans. At the culmination of the course, students were split into four groups, each responsible for preparing 50 servings of their chosen recipe. In spring quarter, students prepared a vegan pesto pasta salad, a Mediterranean pasta salad, an Asian noodle dish and a chicken vegetable wrap.

Larisa Williams, a fourth-year student double majoring in nutrition and Spanish, took the food service operations course in the winter quarter. She suggested partnering with the Cal Poly Food Pantry because of her involvement with the Peer Health Education Program, which supports the health and well-being of students on campus. “In the class, I learned valuable managerial skills that can be translated into any leadership role. One of the biggest takeaways for me was how important it is to assess and re-assess goals, staff training and morale, budget, and so many more components that leaders must consider,” said Williams, who plans to become a registered dietitian specializing in diabetes care and education. “It gave us the practical experience of recipe scaling and applying large-scale management operations skills, as well as allowed us to serve our local campus community and provide students with scratch-cooked, on-the-go, nutritious meals. It was so neat to have a Learn by Doing experience that helped our campus community.”

 

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