By Breanna Massey & Quintyn Maas
Student Reporters
Amarillo College students facing financial hardships or food insecurity have access to vital resources on campus, including the Advocacy and Resource Center (ARC) and The Mobile Harvest food truck.
Created to provide support for needs past academic challenges, the ARC helps students handle struggles that might impede their education. From food to financial struggles, this center offers a lifeline to those in need. Herrera, director of social services at AC, the ARC assists hundreds of students each semester. “Our goal is to make sure that students don’t have to choose between their education and meeting their basic needs by offering food assistance, emergency aid and connections to resources that help them stay on track,” Herrera said.
Currently, it is located in the Student Services Center, where it has temporarily relocated, but is expected to move back to the Ware Building as soon as construction is completed. The new facility promises to expand its services and provide an even more accessible,student-friendly environment.
Herrera said the renovated space will offer additional private consultation rooms, a larger food pantry and upgraded technology to help better connect students with available resources.
One of the key movements in which the ARC is involved is the Storybridge partnership. This program is designed to provide books to students and their families. This initiative not only builds a love for reading but also helps remove barriers that some families face when accessing literature.
Computer networking and cybersecurity major, Maria Lopez said the ARC helped her. “I was struggling and didn’t know where to go,” Lopez said. “The ARC helped me with food and showed me resources that paid my bills. Without their support, I don’t think I would have been able to focus on school.”
Another resource includes the High Plains Mobile Harvest Truck. It aims to empower healthy choices for families by providing the community with fresh fruits and vegetables at no cost to them.
The mobile truck makes its way to the Washington Street campus once a week at 10:30 a.m., weather permitting, behind the STEM Research Center Building to provide for families in need. The variety of fruits and vegetables given away each week depends primarily on what is available at the time of distribution.
“I think anything that provides assistance to students in need is a huge benefit to the college students and community,” Janette Garza, a nursing major, said. “College students are an underserved population; there is a need in this community.”
Not all students know what resources AC offers. “Unfortunately, I’m not familiar with the food truck at AC, but I do believe I have seen the email before,” Heather Spears said. “I think it is a wonderful thing they are doing for college students; some college students don’t always get the support as others, so it’s great that AC offers help providing healthy foods beyond ramen noodles.”
The Mobile Harvest truck is open to anyone in the community seeking access to fresh and healthy produce at no cost.
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