Golden West College students welcomed back to campus with free lunch
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Golden West College President Meridith Randall dutifully sliced up portions of tres leches cake on campus around lunchtime on Tuesday.
Students were more than happy to indulge.
“From the president herself,” one female student remarked as she took a piece of the cake.
Randall smiled.
“I did not bake it,” she replied.
The delicious dessert came courtesy of Bracken’s Kitchen, more specifically its food truck parked immediately to Randall’s left in the main quad on campus.
The event, which provided free meals to students during Welcome Week, was a partnership of the nonprofit that tackles food insecurity and the college, as well as the Huntington Beach Police Department and Republic Services.
City officials also took part, with Huntington Beach Mayor Casey McKeon and Mayor Pro Tem Butch Twining serving water and iced tea to the students on the warm day.
“I find it amazing,” said Golden West student body president Ethan Widjaja, a second-year communications major, adding that it was nice to see students on campus interacting with each other. “I’m a big foodie person, so with the Stand and with Bracken’s Kitchen coming on campus, I’m already saving maybe $100 this week that I’m not spending on food.”
Jeffrey MacRill, a Bracken’s Kitchen cook, said he usually takes the food truck to events about once a week. The Golden West students enjoyed a chicken bowl with black beans and white rice, with a corn salsa and cabbage salad to go on top.
“I love going out and doing these events, because you get to see the communities that we’re making food for,” MacRill said. “Sometimes you’re in the kitchen and you’re just working away, prepping things, washing things. Then when you get out here, you see all of the people that we’re serving.”
Bracken’s Kitchen used the opportunity to recruit interested students for its culinary training program. Meanwhile, HBPD also sought to recruit Golden West students for information technology positions.
“We do have a shortage right now for IT specialists, techs and analysts,” HBPD Officer Son Lam said. “It’s about eight to 10 positions that are needed for it … IT is the backbone of our department and they do help out a lot on the police side.”
Students clearly appreciated a free lunch during the first week of school. According to a recent basic needs survey at Golden West College, 62.5% of students indicated that they have reduced their meals in the last 30 days because they were worried food will run out. Half of the students who responded indicated that they had experienced some sort of food insecurity.
The Stand, the college’s food pantry, reopened in its current location in 2024. It’s open to all enrolled students to use up to three times a week, said Yasmin Bravo, student retention specialist.
The survey indicated that 90% of respondents had utilized the pantry in the last year.
The Stand received nearly 300 visits on Monday, the first day of school, Bravo said. Second Harvest Food Bank is the main food supplier, donating about 7,000-10,000 pounds of food each week.
Randall said that Golden West College is holding a tailgate party on Saturday, as it hosts its first home football game of the season. Last year, the Rustlers were state finalists.
“The more comfortable they feel here, the more they stay, the more successful they are,” she said.
