Fuller Discontinues Food Distribution Program for Low-Income Pasadena Families, Students

Fuller Theological Seminary announced Friday it would discontinue its food distribution program for qualifying low-income students and families of Pasadena.

The program began more than 25 years ago in an effort to assist international students and staff and then extended its reach to its neighboring communities.

The program will be terminated on June 29, officials said.

In the mid 2000’s, the distribution program was one of the largest food pantries in the Pasadena area and would serve about 450 households. It is a registered distribution agency with the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank and a member of the USDA funded Emergency Food Assistance Program (EFAP).

In its earlier years, it was lauded as one of the best food distribution programs to model and would teach other agencies how to create and offer such programs.

Fuller issued a statement which said in part that given the number of support programs being offered today by local organizations, churches and government supported agencies, the number of recipients who frequent the weekly food pantry at Fuller’s campus has significantly reduced, and the costs and support resources required to maintain it are no longer sustainable by the seminary.

The Student Life and Services Office at Fuller spent time in 2015 observing new and expanded service options available within the surrounding Pasadena location near Fuller’s campus. They discovered nine other food distribution programs in the area, several offering very similar services, even on the same day and time, and some within walking distance from campus. It made more sense for Fuller to participate in these other local programs, both as recipients and as volunteers.

Staff and students who ran the weekly program are saddened to bring this program to closure and are working on a transition for those who rely on this weekly service. “We recognize this is a loss for members of our community and we want to connect those using this program to alternatives provided by local churches and organizations we trust. We hope that during June all Fuller recipients will identify and connect with another local option and that the transition will be a smooth one,” said Bethany Fox, director of Student Services at Fuller.

Fuller plans to provide assistance with the transition by reaching out to weekly recipients and making sure they are informed of all local options. They will also offer shuttle service to Fuller students and staff to a local distribution pantry 1.5 miles from campus if transportation is needed and some students may even qualify for paid assistance with public transportation. A member of Student Life and Services’ food distribution team will be at the food distribution site each Wednesday through August to meet anyone who might come looking for the program to explain the transition and provide directions and assistance to other nearby resources.

“We will greatly miss the weekly interaction we have had with those who have come to Fuller and we do not want the closure of this program to curtail Fuller’s connection to its neighbors and local community,” said Fox, who looks forward to connecting volunteers to existing efforts that serve the Pasadena community.

Fuller’s Office of Urban Initiatives continues its work in the Pasadena community by developing and participating in long-term solutions to end poverty and homelessness, such as focusing on low-income housing and addressing underlying causes of homelessness. The new division of Vocation and Formation at Fuller that began in 2015 provides an apprenticeship program for its students and has initiated a Fuller Serves day in Pasadena and Los Angeles. Its first Serve Day occurred in April and by the success of the first effort, plans are underway to continue and grow this effort each year.

All questions and concerns can be directed to the Student Life and Services at studentlife@fuller.edu.

Fuller Seminary, founded in 1947, is a three-school, graduate-level educational institution, and focuses on Christian theology and its integration with intercultural studies and psychology. It offers degrees in English, Korean and Spanish. One of the largest seminaries in the world, it currently enrolls 4,000 students from 90 countries and 110 denominations, and its 41,000 living alumni serve as ministers, missionaries, counselors, teachers, artists, nonprofit leaders, businesspersons, and in other vocations around the world. With its main campus in Pasadena, California, several regional campuses, and robust online programs, Fuller is committed to the personal, spiritual, academic, and global formation of all members of its extended community. Learn more at www.fuller.edu.