The Market is a free food bank sponsored by Las Positas College. The Market is held on the third Tuesday of every month.
Volunteers, mostly from LPC student government with a few people from staff, faculty, LPC Foundation and the community, sort and pack the food into bags for a drive-thru distribution. Several cars are lined up prior to the noon opening time to receive the groceries. This month the groceries included canned pork, canned vegetables and canned fruit, beans, cereal, milk and fresh food in the form of potatoes, onions, carrots and a cantaloupe. The value of the food that each patron receives in November was about $90.
As the college does not ask for identification or other information, it is impossible to tell who the people are, but most appear to be elderly and from the local community. What is missing from The Market is students. Very few, if any, of the patrons of The Market appear to be students.
I don’t know why students do not patronize the Market. It could be that they are not on campus due to the pandemic, at work or class between the distribution hours of noon to 3 (or when the food runs out) or another reason.
It seems that the free food would help someone on a limited budget such as a student, but it appears that LPC students do not agree.
Alan Lewis