Dr. Patricia L. Prado-Olmos
Vice President of Community Engagement 
California State University San Marcos 

Noemi Ramirez discovered a passion for the stock market through a high school competition in which she helped her school take second place.

Ramirez planned to continue working toward a career that allowed her to pursue that interest after enrolling at Cal State San Marcos, where she is majoring in business administration with an emphasis in finance and minoring in economics.

But seeing the impact of the ASI Cougar Pantry on CSUSM students has put her on a new path.

“I always thought I was going to go to work for a financial firm or something like that,” said Ramirez, who will graduate in December 2022. “But after joining this job, I actually think I’m going to go work for a nonprofit.”

Ramirez works with the ASI Cougar Pantry as a CalFresh specialist, helping students navigate the application process for receiving food benefits from the state. For the first time in her two-plus years on the job, she has been able to do so in a much-needed office space thanks to the ASI Cougar Pantry’s relocation to a bigger area in Commons 104 near the University Bookstore. Though the new location officially welcomed students on the first day of the fall semester, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Nov. 18 to celebrate the opening.

“It’s a lot easier for us to serve students, and we’re able to provide a lot more food options with this larger space,” said Alondra Gutierrez, the ASI Cougar Pantry coordinator and a CSUSM alumna. “All of the students who come in are super excited to see the amount of food that’s in the new pantry space. They get really happy when they see our fridge is full and produce is there.”

A 2016 survey showed more than half of CSUSM students reporting food insecurity, meaning they didn’t know when or where they would get their next healthy meal or they skipped meals because of cost concerns. ASI passed a resolution that year in support of creating a food pantry on campus to help students, and the pantry opened two years later in a small space in the USU.

The ASI Cougar Pantry is open to all enrolled students, who can visit once each week to pick up an array of free groceries. The pantry is open 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Thursday, and no appointment is needed to visit.

The new space has the look and feel of a grocery store, with shopping carts available for students to walk the aisles.

Before the pandemic, the ASI Cougar Pantry offered fresh produce pickups every Monday outside the USU because of space and refrigeration limitations. That’s no longer necessary thanks to the additional space.

In addition to food, the new location includes toiletries and a diaper bank for students with young children. Menstrual products are expected to be available before the end of the semester.

CSUSM has other long-term goals for the pantry, including workshops on budgeting, healthy eating and food preparation, among others. But the biggest goal centers on a wellness and recreation center. ASI passed a resolution in 2019 in support of such a facility, and a feasibility report has been completed.

“Hopefully, we can have a one-stop shop for students’ holistic wellness,” said Ashley Fennell, ASI’s associate director of government affairs and initiatives. “We’re hoping to have that on campus in the next few years, and that will be the next big dream for the pantry.”