Fresno City College’s first Winter Dinner event fed approximately 500 students at the college cafeteria on Dec. 3, 2015.

The dinner was a free event with the purpose of helping students by providing food to those in need.

Cris Monahan, marketing director, said that the event was made possible because of the help of many volunteers on the FCC campus, including office workers, instructors, as well as the president who was greeting students as they walked in.

“This is a much needed service for our students. We hear that there is a lot of food insecurity in our student population,” Monahan said. “We are here to help students and help them succeed. We don’t want anyone to feel a need for food.”

On the menu at the Winter Dinner were turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, dessert buffet as well as free drinks.

Sociology Instructor, Dr. Linda Vang volunteered at the event and said that this was a kick-off for Ram Pantry which will provide needy students with a bag of groceries every Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Part-time English instructor at FCC, Jennifer Dorian, volunteered and also helped coordinate the event. She said this kind of event started with people who wanted to help other people.

“It is such an honor to serve students in this way,” Dorian said. “It really makes us feel good to see the response of the students; we are really blown away.”

Student Aaron Vang, psychology major, who assisted during the dinner said that events like this are very beneficial to students.

The Ram Pantry is a project that begins in the spring of 2016 and is intended to help students in need by providing them with food.

For more information about the Ram Pantry, please contact Ms.Maile Martin at (559) 443-8688.

“No questions asked,” Prof. Vang said. “Come with your I.D. and you get a bag of food.”