From the Midwest to California, our CSHPE group had the opportunity to visit the University of California, Berkeley, as our first stop. Walking through the historic Sather Gate and passing by students in cap and gowns, Berkeley’s vibrancy and welcoming atmosphere shifted us from saying Go Blue to Go Bears! After grabbing some local coffee and receiving a walking tour from CSHPE alumni Karen Lin, we visited the UC Berkeley Basic Needs Center for our first community visit.
Located in the UC Berkeley Student Union Building, centrally located on campus, we met with staff members of the Basic Needs Center driven to meet the needs of undergraduate and graduate students across Berkeley’s campus. Upon arrival, we were first introduced to the Basic Needs Center team members, Marcia Garcia, Community Services Coordinator, and Natalia Semeraro, Food Resources Coordinator, and learned more about the mission of the Basic Needs Center. ‘Belonging and Justice’ is at the core of the UC Berkeley Basic Needs Center, as its mission is to provide support for different basic needs, including food security, housing security, and financial support (Berkeley Basic Needs, 2023). Their goal is to serve UC Berkeley students and the greater Berkeley community, to be inclusive and meet students where they are, supporting undergraduate, graduate, international, undocumented, and staff members (Berkeley Basic Needs, 2023). In addition to providing a food pantry to help support students facing food insecurity, they offer one-on-one nutrition counseling and assistance applying for CalFresh, also referred to as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (Berkeley Basic Needs, 2023). Through discussion with staff members, we also learned that if students are denied to CalFresh, the Basic Needs Center offers legal services to help appeal the application and connects students to local Berkeley pantries in emergencies or outside school hours. As a group, we appreciated hearing about the different types of holistic services available to center the needs of UC Berkeley students and community members.
Afterward, we had the opportunity to visit the food pantry on the floor below to understand how students access food and the day-to-day operations of the pantry. As a way to help students work around their schedules, the pantry introduced a “Virtual Line” that allows students to see what the current wait time is at the pantry, as well as save a spot in line (UC Berkeley Basic Needs, 2023). Once arriving at the pantry, the pantry recommends that students bring a bag and take as much as they need! From fresh produce to dairy, eggs, milk, and proteins, students, we learned about the various food options to help accommodate their individual food needs. When learning about where the food comes from, various local groceries and food banks donate to the Basic Needs Center and have their own UC Berkeley Student Farms (UC Berkeley Basic Needs, 2023). On top of having an inviting and inclusive space, the staff creates a community where all students, staff, and community members feel welcomed.
After leaving the food pantry, we sat as a group to learn more about the different needs they support students with, specifically the housing and affordability crisis for UC Berkeley students and community members. The UC Berkeley Basic Needs Center defines housing insecurity as unhoused students, couch surfing, commuting long distances, and sleeping in a car (UC Berkeley Basic Needs, 2023). From the UC Berkeley Housing Justice Hub, they estimated during the 2020-2021 academic year that 4% of UC Berkeley undergraduate and 5% of graduate students reported facing a form of housing insecurity (UC Berkeley Housing Justice Hub, 2021). While supporting students to find affordable and just housing, they also provide emergency housing accommodations for those who need to transition into safer housing or face situations that impact their current housing plan (UC Berkeley, 2023). Through short-term emergency housing, their team works to help find a better housing plan and meet other basic needs (UC Berkeley, 2023). Also, their free legal services can help students work through landlord conflicts (UC Berkeley, 2023).
When asking the Basic Needs Team the solutions to help find more beds and affordable housing, it’s a difficult question to answer given the limited capacity within the city of Berkeley, as well as the rising cost of rent even if more spaces were made available. Through compassionate and complex conversations, our CSHPE group gained a deeper understanding of the work the UC Berkeley Basic Needs Center does for students and how they advocate for resources and basic needs for different student populations.
–Meagan Mason, master’s student
References
UC Berkeley Basic Needs: https://basicneeds.berkeley.edu/home
Housing Justice Hub: https://sites.google.com/berkeley.edu/housing-justice/home