After students were denied use of prepaid meal vouchers at the campus delicatessens this past winter session, Cooperative Agencies Resources for Education, (CARE) rectified the situation upholding its image as caring for its students.

CARE works with a variety of support services including those for single parent students such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, (TANF) CalWorks and EOPS (Educational Opportunity Programs Services) to help students with their expenses.

“Support services that we offer help those students financially get through the middle of the month,” Wanda Holt, assistant adviser of CARE, said.

The students receive meal vouchers valued at $60 a ticket during the fall and spring semesters, which at one point were not accepted by the cafeteria and campus delis.

“When the cafeteria and delis would not accept the voucher during the off semesters, students went to complain and express their concerns to the CARE advisers,” Holt said. “We explained to the cafeteria that these vouchers are prepaid, therefore students should be able to use them or monies will go to waste. Students are now able to use their vouchers at any time until they have used them up.”

Holt said that in the event of misunderstanding such as this, it is the job of those who work with the CARE program to fix it as soon as possible to ensure student needs are met.

“When students come and state their concerns in regards to any problem or situation, we try to rectify the situation as soon as possible,” she said. We don’t want any delay or hinder the students of their needs being met.”

On the other hand, Holt said students holding on to meal vouchers and not using them is not only wasting money but they are also taking away an opportunity for another student to use them. Meal vouchers are distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis.

“We suggest if students are not going to use all of their vouchers, or they have way too many left by the end of the semester, turn them in to give student who missed the vouchers the opportunity to have some,” Holt said.

As a student worker for CARE, Lizet Corona-Salazar said she is aware that CARE cannot deal with every single issue.

“Sometimes some things we have no control over. For instance, whether the food is good or not; we give the meal vouchers and it’s the students’ choice on how they use them,” Salazar said. “Our goal is to help the students get a meal.”

Holt said the CARE office is here to help the students with any problem they are having.

“The CARE program is here not just for supportive services, but here on a mental level,” Holt said