As of the 2025-2026 school year, Rancho Cucamonga High School has 76 clubs. One of the new additions to the list this year was RCHS Pantry Partners, a club focused on giving back to the community with food drives and donations. With meetings every month and a partnership with The Neighborhood Vineyard Church Food Pantry, Pantry Partners has proven itself dedicated to their cause.
“Our mission is to create meaningful change in our community through hosting volunteer events and fundraisers to give back to local food banks and families in need,” co-president of Pantry Partners and junior Ethan Hou said. “We aim to bring students together to build a community and make a positive impact through consistent acts of giving.”
The importance of a club like Pantry Partners stems from the value of food banks and Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) as a whole.
In November 2025, the SNAP program, or CalFresh, as it is known in California, was put on pause due to the federal government shutdown. Currently, about 5.5 million California residents receive SNAP benefits per month, and 41.7 million in the whole U.S. Without SNAP benefits, food banks became even more valuable.
On Nov. 12, SNAP funding was restored, and SNAP benefits were given the green light to be distributed. However, the closeness to Thanksgiving resulted in many households being unsure if they’d receive their payments before the holiday. On Oct. 31, California allocated $80 million to food banks in preparation for SNAP’s shutdown.
Food banks play an important role in helping families feel more stable when it comes to living. They help close the gap between low-income families and financially stable ones by providing food and community support when times are rough.
In California, there are 285 food banks and pantries. According to the LA Food Bank, an average of 1.2 million people visit the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank and its partners each month. With almost 4 million people living in Los Angeles, that means about 30 percent of people rely on assistance from food banks.
As living costs grow higher each year, people start depending on organizations and community help. In 2024, the LA Food Bank distributed 82 million pounds of food in the first eight months of 2024, which was a 10% increase from 2023.
“Without the resources for food that we have right now, it definitely makes people’s lives a lot harder. Food banks should be valued more, they contribute a lot to society, and I don’t think being able to eat dinner should be such [the] big problem it is today, because eating shouldn’t be a privilege,” sophomore Angelica Soto said.
The Beginning
Hou and his co-president junior Kaiden Dirige started Pantry Partners hoping to help out Rancho’s community. With the help of their executive officer board, they reached out and partnered with the Neighborhood Vineyard Church Food Pantry.\
“Me and my officers wanted to find a way to make an impact, and we realized one way was through serving at food drives, donating food, and helping out at soup kitchens,” Dirige said. “[They] allowed us to have fun with what we were doing for a good cause: helping our community.”
Currently, they volunteer with the NVC Food Pantry the third Saturday of every month, mostly organizing, outlining, and helping out with closing. During club meetings, they host raffles and games to encourage donations.
In the first semester of the school year, Pantry Partners volunteered at numerous NVC Saturdays. As their club expands, Dirige and Hou have plans to reach out to Citylink Ministries and start volunteering there as well.
When asked how they plan and run their club meetings, Dirige said the executive board plans them about a week in advance. Their meetings are usually centered around future plans and any opportunities members can take for volunteer hours. They meet monthly in room E201, and when volunteering, meet from 9 a.m. to noon.
“Aside from serving at Citylink and [The NVC] Food Pantry, we plan to host an assembly having a UNRWA USA representative speak promoting donations to Palestine and a faculty basketball game where the proceeds go to charity, which we plan to release details on very soon,” Dirige said.
Instead of focusing on short-term goals, Dirige and Hou want to leave a lasting impact. As they build up volunteer credentials and become more established by helping out at the NVC Food Pantry, they hope to see Pantry Partners remain effective.
“In our first year, we plan to make a big impact in our community and build our club upon a foundation for years to come at Rancho,” Dirige said. “We want this club to leave a long-lasting positive impact and extend to years after our original officer board has graduated.”
With their regular donations and volunteering events, Pantry Partners’ work raises awareness of food insecurity, and it serves as a helping hand towards bigger organizations that provide consistent support to those in need.
A big part of Pantry Partners is their consistency. Members show their support by showing up to the food pantry monthly and either providing donations or simply helping out. In a club-organization partnership like the one Pantry Partners has with the NVC Food Pantry, club members become familiar with organization leaders over time, building relationships with new people in the community while earning volunteer hours at the same time. Pantry Partner’s commitment benefits the whole Rancho community, not just themselves.
Partnerships
Pantry Partner’s volunteer partner, The NVC Food Pantry, has been donating to the community for almost 14 years. In recent years, however, their food pantry has shifted from indoors to a drive-thru type.
Marla Bryan, who oversees most of the food pantry, enjoys getting to interact with familiar faces and new people in the community.
“[My] favorite part of the food pantry is seeing the people come month after month, and they smile and are glad to see us as they know we care for them. We’ve also developed a pet ministry so that when people come through, and they have a dog or a cat, we’ll give them a treat. They really like that,” Bryan said.
Bryan says running the pantry has taught her people are, at base, kind and willing to help others who are less fortunate. It also helped her realize that worrying too much about small, unimportant things is pointless.
To her, having a community that reaches out for help and assistance is important. Volunteering at food banks and similar organizations teaches people that worrying less about themselves allows them to see a bigger picture. Because the food pantry is an extension of The Neighborhood Vineyard Church itself, its mission and principles are largely influenced by Christian teachings.
“[It’s] important to help your fellow man out when he needs a hand up,” Bryan said. “The Bible says we must care for our fellow man, our neighbor, our brother, sister, and so that’s what we’re doing. We are here to help and [provide] food assistance, especially for the children.”
As Pantry Partners’ executive board continues with its plans of expanding volunteering locations, the next few NVC Food Pantry events they’ll attend will take place on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, and Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026.
For more information, visit their Instagram page, @rchs.pan, or attend their monthly meetings in room E201 at 3:30 p.m.
