Two student groups organized on-campus food drives in late November to support the nonprofit organization Second Harvest of Silicon Valley. The Community Service Learning (CSL) Club and Food Science Club were responding to recent reductions to federal SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits and a rising number of local families experiencing food insecurity.
The CSL Club chose to support Second Harvest after researching the organization and its mission. Second Harvest is a regional food bank that distributes food through local partner agencies across Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. The organization serves around 500,000 people in Silicon Valley each month, including families affected by recent SNAP benefit cuts.
“We narrowed it down to some organizations that were specifically also helping people who get SNAP benefits and were affected by cuts,” said CSL Club member Langley Vassallo ’28. “We determined that [Second Harvest] would be a good place to send the money that we would make from the bake sale.”
Second Harvest estimates that every donated dollar helps provide roughly two meals to the community, a figure CSL Club members said helped ensure their fundraising would translate into direct, tangible support.
The club held a hot chocolate sale on Nov. 20 and a bake sale on Nov. 21, offering brookies, rice crispy treats, and cookies. The CSL Club also ran a breakfast food drive in partnership with Samaritan House, a local organization that provides food programs, shelter, and social services to families in need. The partnership grew out of previous CSL Day collaborations, which made it easier for the club to coordinate the drive with Samaritan House.
“Continuing to foster those connections is really important, and it makes it a lot more accessible to plan,” said CSL Club co-lead Meera Nanjapa.
Separately, the Food Science Club conducted its own Second Harvest food drive on Nov. 20–21, collaborating with the Castilleja School’s Hope Against Hunger club.
“We both mutually chose Second Harvest,” said Food Science Club lead Talia Fine ’27. “Together we ended up raising over 400 pounds of food.”
Fine described the timing—before Thanksgiving—as added motivation to aid families experiencing food insecurity.
“Not having the option to have food at that kind of event is a very harsh reality. We wanted to at least relieve families a little bit,” Fine said.
She also emphasized the broader role of nutrition in daily life. “Having food as fuel is really important. Everybody should have access to what they need to support themselves,” Fine said.
Because hunger is a year-round problem, both clubs highlighted the persistence of the issue beyond the holidays. “Food insecurity is never going to not be an issue for some people,” Vassallo said.
The groups expect to maintain their partnership with Second Harvest and other local organizations as part of an ongoing commitment to community support.
