Cabrillo College opened its new Watsonville Wellness Center and Food Pantry on Monday at the Watsonville campus on Union Street.
“We are very excited to launch the Watsonville Wellness Center, which allows us to equitably provide students with basic-needs services at both our Aptos and Watsonville campuses,” said Cabrillo College Superintendent and President Jenn Capps. “The Watsonville Wellness Center represents our commitment to increasing Cabrillo’s presence in and access to services in Watsonville — a vital part of the Cabrillo College community.”
Funding for the Watsonville Wellness Center and Food Pantry came from the U.S. Department of Education’s Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Program.
Cabrillo spokesperson Kristin Fabos said the three-year, $950,000 grant supports college programs “that address students’ basic needs and improve persistence, graduation and transfer outcomes.”
Officials said the center, located in the former Digital NEST space — the organization relocated nearby to 349 Main St. — aims to improve students’ social, emotional, academic and career development by connecting them with resources for food, housing, transportation, technology and other services.
The space includes a food pantry and kitchen, offices for a coordinator and “Wellness Ambassadors,” full-time mental health counseling services, an outreach and recruitment office for South County and a conference room.
A program called CHEFS offers hands-on cooking instruction in which students prepare full meals using pantry ingredients while building practical cooking skills.
“This is a huge step for Cabrillo College,” Capps said. “One of my goals is to create access to education, to invite people in and ask how we can support their success with food and counseling. Let’s face it — things are expensive, and it’s becoming even more difficult for students to afford rent in what is already one of the nation’s most expensive housing markets. As an educational institution, we have to do all that we can.”
