BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Cal State Bakersfield has cut the ribbon on a new, grocery-store-style food pantry, and unlike a real grocery store, nothing inside carries a price tag.
The Nest, a 2,500-square-foot facility that replaces a much smaller pantry that opened in 2017, is the result of six years of planning and a student referendum that helped set the project in motion. Everything inside is free.
The need it was built to meet is significant. About 4 in 10 CSUB students, roughly 4,000 people, experience some level of food insecurity, according to Dr. Jason Watkins, director of the Essential Needs Resource Center. That figure mirrors the rate seen across the California State University system.
"Early projections were we would see 100 that first month; and the first week we had 100 students come in," Watkins said. "And so we knew early on that there was probably a greater need than we anticipated."
What followed was years of steady growth. The pantry recorded more than 25,000 visits last year and now distributes about 3,000 pounds of food each week during the semester. Watkins said he expects those numbers to climb as the larger space reduces barriers and economic pressures on students continue to grow.
The pantry's shelves are stocked through donations and a partnership with Community Action Partnership of Kern, known as CAPK. When gaps arise, staff work with retail partners to fill them.
For students like Bianca Romo, a senior psychology major who also works in the president's office, the pantry has been a practical lifeline during some of the most demanding stretches of the school year.
"There's been times where I've been staying up late all night for an exam, and I forgot to pack my lunch," Romo said. "And there's been so many times where the food pantry had tables out with snacks where you can just go by and grab them."
Romo said the expanded space, with more options, refrigerated items and room to sit, represents a meaningful upgrade from the original pantry. She also pointed to the broader pressures students face when balancing tuition, housing and the rising cost of groceries.
"Students cannot be at their full potential if they are not fulfilling those needs," Romo said. "Whether the safety needs, hunger needs, those things we cannot be 100% ourselves if we are struggling in those other areas."
Beyond food, The Nest connects students with CalFresh enrollment assistance, housing resources and emergency support, all in one location. Watkins said the goal is for students to treat the pantry the way they would any other campus resource, like a tutoring center or recreation facility.
CSUB President Vernon B. Harper Jr. framed the stakes plainly at the ribbon cutting.
"The Nest, simply put, is the difference between remaining at CSUB or dropping out for so many of our students," Harper said.
The Nest is now open to all CSUB students.
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