New Trader Joe’s partners with CSUMB’s student food pantry

By Mark Muckenfuss

Cal State Monterey Bay is welcoming Trader Joe’s to the Marina neighborhood and partnering with the specialty grocery store to bring more food to students on campus who might otherwise go hungry.

Basic Needs, CSUMB’s food pantry program, will receive some of the store’s daily donations of food and other fresh items – including plants and flowers – that are not saleable and would otherwise be thrown out. That can include items that are past their fresh dates, overstock or items that are not selling quickly enough. The process is referred to as food recovery. A state law requires stores of a certain size to engage in such programs. 

Basic Needs Hub coordinator Robyn DoCanto said having Trader Joe’s just down the street will be a boost for the program.

“This is a huge community-based partnership and we’re super excited,” DoCanto said. “This creates much more accessibility for our students and our team. We’re really hoping the Basic Needs Hub won’t be empty at the end of the day.”

Basic Needs has had a partnership with Safeway in North Salinas for a year. But with 200 to 400 students coming to the pantry each day, some products can run out quickly.  She expects the pantry will soon be able to offer much more, including more fresh produce and specialty items such as gluten-free bread and dairy-free milk.

“Our main goal is to make sure we have adequate food for our students,” DoCanto said. “Having quicker access to these donations allows us to fill the Hub more often with fresh items.”

She said she began talking to the local food bank about working with Trader Joe’s nearly two years ago when rumors first surfaced of a Marina store. It wasn’t until a week before the new store opened that she was finally able to speak directly with company representatives and establish the partnership. 

“They have been absolutely extraordinary,” she said. 

Captain Christian Robbins, the store manager (employee titles fit with the store’s nautical theme) said he expects the store to have close ties to CSUMB. In addition to the Basic Needs partnership, the store is employing many students. Among the mural-style paintings on the interior walls is an image of the Tanimura & Antle Family Memorial Library. 

Robbins said he doesn’t foresee a formal internship program with the campus.

“But if we have a student, they’re pretty much interning,” he said.  “We’re teaching them everything we know. If you’re interested in business, this is a good opportunity for you.”

And if you’re just hungry, well that works too.