Doña Ana Community College (DACC) and FirstLight Federal Credit Union have entered a partnership to fund and sustain the college’s food pantry for years to come.
FirstLight has committed to providing $200,000 to the college’s food pantry for the next six years. The pantry has also been renamed from the Comfort Casita to the FirstLight Federal Credit Union Comfort Casita. The announcement was made this morning at an unveiling of the partnership. In addition, FirstLight will provide workshops on financial wellness to those in our community.
The FirstLight Federal Credit Union Comfort Casita pantry provides free supplementary food and other necessities to current students, faculty and staff. The pantry’s main location is at the Espina Campus inside Alex Sanchez Hall in room 109B. There are also five micro-pantries located at the Chaparral, Gadsden and Sunland centers and at the East Mesa Campus.
According to a recent poll, up to 62% of DACC students have experienced food insecurity. DACC’s food pantry was established in the spring of 2023. Since its inception, the college has distributed more than 10,000 bags of food and helped over 1,540 students.
To get more information on DACC’s in-house food pantry, please visit the AVANZA program webpage at Comfort Casita. To contribute to the pantry, please visit https://alwaysanaggie.org/donate/dacc-comfort-casitas.