PHOTO BY: RICHARD NGYUEN
STORY BY: GHADA MAHMOUD
The Charger Cafe at Cypress College, is now offering free food to all students with an I.D. for the Fall of 2022.
The Cafe is located on the first floor of the student center (in front of Admissions and Records.) It is open from Monday through Friday, from 7:45 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
This semester is different for the Charger Cafe as it’s currently seeing a big change in regards to the amount of meals they will have to make compared to last semester since there is a rise of students back on campus. The manager of the cafe, James Gau, talks about the amount of food they’re making this semester versus last.
“We are making 550 meals for breakfast and 500 to 600 meals for lunch because there are a lot more students compared with last semester,” said Gau.
Citlali Sandoval, a Psychology major at Cypress College, enjoys the free lunch meals three days a week. She not only likes the food but it helps her financially by saving her $20 to $25 a day. When she started college, she was going across the street to purchase food and she felt that it was wasting her time. One of her friends told her about how students can receive free good quality meals with big portions.
“I’m saving a lot of time because when I’m going home, I’m just making a quick dinner and starting to study,” Sandoval said.
Depending on the day of the week, the Charger Cafe has a variety of breakfast sandwiches that include breakfast croissants, vegan breakfast sandwiches, and bagel sandwiches. The cafe also serves grab-and-go breakfast snacks such as yogurt, pastries, and fruit. They begin serving breakfast at 7:45 a.m and pack up for lunch at 11:30 a.m.
As for lunch, the meals also vary each day of the week, but they always have two to three options available. Lunch choices include chicken teriyaki plates, fish sandwiches, vegan falafel wraps, chicken quesadillas, etc. All of these meals come with a side of your choosing for instance; rice, french fries, chips and salsa, green salad, etc., making it enough for a student. Lunch begins at 11:30 a.m. and ends at 2:00 p.m.
The Charger Cafe is serving food only on the weekdays, but it is first come first serve. “Please check the menu before you come to know what we have, because the line is always too long, and we do not want to make it hard for students and let them wait in the sun for a long time,” said James Gau. “We are asking all students to make a student identification card because we are not able to serve them without I.D. and that will make it easier for all of us.”
Amne Trad, a full-time biology major, enjoys the food since “it is fresh and kind of healthy,” she said. She believes it is a great idea that they have it for free because it is helping her save money to get books or fill-up her gas tank.
“When a student brings a meal from home and eats it after a few hours, it’s smelly and not good or a student has to heat it up. So, a free fresh meal solves this issue,” said Trad. “Free meal on campus helps me save time at home and prevents me from cooking. It helps me to not waste my time when I am waiting for my delivery or going outside campus to get a meal especially when I have no time between classes.”
The college offering free meals after two years of uncertainty makes it easier on students coming back to campus. Most of the students who get free meals enjoy the food and feel that it is helping them save time and money.
