Three rock bands featuring current and former San Diego State students took the stage Nov. 5 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union to support Associated Students’ annual effort to fight food insecurity in San Diego.
KCR Events Director Sheridan Koenig coordinated bands Kassette, Slacker and Kimiko to headline Splash for a Cause, as part of the Aztec Rocks Hunger campaign.
Each year, Associated Students leads Aztecs Rock Hunger as an effort to draw attention and drive solutions for growing food insecurity in San Diego. This most recent drive ended on Nov. 30.
According to Jacobs and Cushman, San Diego County’s largest hunger-relief organization, one in four San Diego County residents are nutrient insecure. This number includes college students.
Nearly 400,000 San Diegans rely on monthly CalFresh (SNAP) benefits to purchase food at their local grocery store. On Oct. 1, the national government shutdown hit close to home, pausing CalFresh benefits. Full CalFresh benefits in San Diego were issued on Nov. 7 following the nation’s longest government shutdown in history.
Aztecs Rocks Hunger came at a crucial moment, as Jacobs and Cushman predicted that this pause could impact 16 millions meals in the county during the month of November.
Aliza Siddiqui, Associated Students’ Vice-President of Financial Affairs, says that Aztecs Rock Hunger encouraged a competitive spirit to close the meal gap. Each event aimed to increase student engagement to raise money and awareness of campus resources advancing food access.
“We do competitions to fundraise, donate 20% back to the Economic Crisis Response Team, and we fund our AS food pantry,” Siddiqui said. “The remaining funds go to the Jacobs and Cushman Food Bank.”
Jacobs and Cushman feeds approximately 400,000 people every month. Each dollar donated from Aztecs Rock Hunger was converted into two distributed meals.
In addition to the annual campaign to amplify conversation on campus, SDSU offers a variety of resources for students facing hunger year-round.
The Wesley House Food Pantry serves fresh food Monday through Friday and is open to all students in need of food assistance.
Another resource available around the clock is the Economic Crisis Response Team. The ECRT pools resources from partnerships on and off-campus to help students experiencing immediate food, housing or unforeseen financial crises.
According to Koenig, community interest and involvement was key to the engagement and success of Aztecs Rock Hunger. Bringing SDSU bands to play a big role, localized the issue and included the community in a new way.
Koenig says that SDSU has a lively music scene. Many local rock bands have emerged from campus, and house shows are a popular weekend activity.
“We get to help draw attention to their event in the Union, and live bands definitely accomplish that,” said Koenig. “It is completely legitimate in the middle of, you know, the Union where everyone can see us.”
Koenig says she strategically chose bands that are reliable, popular around campus and open to playing classic covers.
Kassette, one of the bands that played in the Union, recently formed and has been playing local house shows.
The band’s lead singer Kamille Kada says that she has been going to house shows since her first year at SDSU. She also explains how live music culture energizes and connects students – both on and off the stage.
Kada says she was excited to bring energy and solidarity to Aztecs Rocks Hunger.
From a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s iconic “Dreams” to Fergie’s “Fergalicious,” Kada says that Kassette’s setlist featured crowd pleasers to unite all kinds of people.
“I think one of the things that makes us unique is that we can take any song and just add our own Kassette flair to it,” said Kada. “There’ll be some cool unique sounds and unique versions of songs you’ve heard.”
Kassette was not only excited to play but planned to mobilize their own following to attend the show and get involved in a local issue. Kada says they posted on their Instagram, told friends and left posters around campus.
While Kassette, Slacker and Kimiko took the stage, Associated Student members engaged attendees with resources, information about the fundraiser and instructions on how to donate.
