Photo Feature: GRC Provides Fuel Through Finals
By Philip Denman, December 9, 2020
Green River College has partnered with United Way of King County (UWKC) and Spectra to deliver more than 1,200 hot meals to GRC students completing finals remotely as part of the Fuel Through Finals program Dec. 8-10. The meals, which are free to participating students, are prepared at the Gator Grill and then delivered via DoorDash.
According to Basha Alexander, CCAMPIS Project Director and Progress & Completion Center Advisor, she first thought of the partnership after learning that UWKC was working with DoorDash to offer weekly food box home delivery from King County food banks. With UWKC onboard, Alexander turned to the GRC campus community for help.
In the end, more than 1,200 meals were cooked by GRC Food Services' partners, Spectra, in the Gator Grill kitchen. From there, a team from Student Affairs and Conference Services (who had each received their Washington State Food Worker Card the previous week) packaged each meal, which was then delivered to students via DoorDash drivers.
During the first day of the event, GRC volunteers received a pleasant surprise when a DoorDash driver arrived to pick up his orders wearing a GRC Gator facemask. The driver, Byron, shared that he was a current Open Doors student in Green River's Automotive Technology program and was excited to be supporting his fellow students during finals.
In November, the Benefits Hub held Food Access Month referring eligible students to public benefits like Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), UWKC Free Grocery Delivery, and the GRC Gator Pantry.
Fuel Through Finals was made possible thanks to United Way of King County, Spectra, DoorDash and the following GRC community members:
- Allison Warner, director, Career & Advising Center
- Basha Alexander, advisor, Progress & Completion Center
- Beth Hawes, assistant director, Finacial Aid
- Chloe Nelson, Career & Advising Center
- Chris Carlson, stage technician 1, Conference Services
- dani crivello-chang, dean of campus life, student affairs
- David Larsen, dean of enrollment and completion, Student Affairs
- Deborah Casey, vice president, Student Affairs
- Isis Nash, Career & Advising Center
- Jamie Hatleburg, senior director, Student Support Services
- Michael Enkerud, general manager, Spectra
- Naja'e Stansberry, program coordinator, Career & Advising Center
- Ryan Hawes, program support supervisor, Assessment & Testing Center
- Sal Salaguinto, stage technician 2, Conference Services
- Sarah Postel, director of welcome services and testing, Assessment & Testing Center
- Su Hoon Tan, director, conference services
- Tammy Sechler, executive chef, Spectra
- Theon Alvarado, educational planner, Career & Advising Center
Basha Alexander poses with Byron, a GRC student in our Automotive Technology program who works as a DoorDash driver.
