Dozens of students line up every day to get free food from Pierce College’s signature food assistance program, the Brahma Bodega.
Brahma Bodega is a student aid program that has worked with other nonprofit organizations like Student LunchBox to help students dealing with food insecurity.
Student LunchBox founder Karlen Nurijanyan came to Pierce on Wednesday, Sept. 26 to help bring fresh produce to people in need.
“I was hungry when I was in college, and back in that time, we didn’t have these nonprofits,” Nurijanyan said. “Food pantries like Bodega are a new initiative, and they are being opened up in all the other campuses.”
Nurijanyan found that providing this kind of relief to college students aided them in more ways than one would expect.
“A lot of students who utilize our services have financial relief, so they don’t have to spend much on groceries,” Nurijanyan said. “Second, is mental health relief. They don’t have to constantly think about how they are going to afford their next meal.”
Founded in 2020, Nurijanyan and Student LunchBox have helped provide fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as non-perishable foods to college students across Los Angeles.
When he visits, he enlists the help of the workers in the Brahma Bodega. Geremy Mason is the basic needs coordinator at Pierce and said the food assistance program has been a great success in getting students to perform better.
“We have compared the academic success of students that are enrolled with Bodega versus just the student population in general,” Mason said. “We saw across the board that the students in [the] Bodega have been more successful in terms of their GPA than the general population.”
Brahma Bodega is available to all students at Pierce regardless of income, setting itself apart from some other types of aid that the college offers.
Larae Jorgoo is a biotechnology major at Pierce who has taken a part-time job working at the bodega in between classes.
“I started working with them because I saw the smiling faces of appreciation on the receivers,” Jorgoo said. “I wanted to be the person that was giving kindness out instead of always receiving it because I know how that feels.”
The Brahma Bodega offers free hot meals in the cafeteria every day and provides packaged food, including noodles and corn, as well as other hygienic necessities.