Nexus File Photo
Isla Vista Community Relations Committee (IVCRC) and Associated Students Food Bank is holding the Isla Vista Resource Fair Saturday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the A.S. Pardall Center to provide the community with food and information on local resources.
The I.V. Resource Fair is a public event which will feature several different organizations, including Committee of Student Well Being (COSWB), I.V. Food Co-Op, Department of Public Worms, Health and Wellness and Environment Affairs Board. The organizations will offer information about their resources, answer questions and host free food giveaways.
IVCRC publicity manager and third-year global studies major Lauren Lim said the Resource Fair will bring people together in I.V., which is the goal of IVCRC.
“As IVCRC, our goal and intention for having this committee to begin with is to bring this community together — bring everyone together — and I think the Resource Fair is a great way [to do so],” Lim said. “Not just for UCSB students to know what resources are available for them, but because it’s in I.V., we can have families come, and different people around the community come.”
Lim said the event will inform attendees of the resources available to them provided by multiple I.V. and UCSB organizations.
“I think a lot of people don’t know what’s available to them, and to have this [event] and present it to them in one day, in one space …” Lim said. “I’m excited for it to become a really big part of what we do as a community.”
IVCRC external chair and third-year art and sociology double-major Aimee Hanna said she is looking forward to the event and what it can offer to the community.
“This event is about feeding people, letting people know all about the resources that are available to them and allowing for these things to become accessible,” Hanna said. “It’s for folks to really come together and realize how we can all come together to make a better community.”
IVCRC secretary and third-year psychology major Tai Kang said A.S. Food Bank Coordinator Tuyen Nguyen inspired the decision to host the I.V. Resource Fair.
“When Aimee and I first got our positions in IVCRC, we were really interested in food security,” Kang said. “I suggested it to Aimee because I read a bunch of articles on food security, so we went to the Food Bank, where we met Tuyen, and she was the one who gave us the idea for the Resource Fair.”
According to Kang, Nguyen asked IVCRC to take on the project because A.S. Food Bank lacked the time and resources.
“We have all the student lock-ins and the fees to do so, and it’d be a great resource to the students,” Kang said. “I think that big thanks has to [go to] Tuyen because she was truly the one who inspired us to do this.”
Nguyen said the I.V. Resource Fair has been in the works for some time, though it has been unsuccessful until now.
“It was something that some of our previous leadership wanted to do last year, and we started to do a couple resource fairs with some community folks to begin to look at and model,” Nguyen said. “Something that already exists in the community, such as the Healthy Food pantry provided by the Isla Vista Youth Projects.”
According to Nguyen, A.S. Food Bank met with IVCRC over the summer, during which the committee chose to pick up the project.
“We’re super thankful to them to put forth their resources and attention,” Nguyen said. “They are amazing and they’re actually the lead; we’re here to actually just be a partner in their particular project.”
Nguyen said A.S. Food Bank will provide food at the I.V. Resource Fair.
“Our role would be to help support and provide pantry items,” Nguyen said. “We have a variety of produce that folks can sift through, but this is a way in which we can provide a different access.”
Second-year environmental science major Colleen McCamy said she is looking forward to the event.
“I think it is a really cool event,” McCamy said. “[It’s] helpful for students to explore the different resources here in the community and on campus.”
