In College, He Couldn't Afford A Sandwich. Now He Helps Other Students In Need Get A Good Meal

Karlen Nurijanyan could barely afford a grilled cheese while he attended Santa Monica College in 2010. Fourteen years ago, there was little support for food-insecure students and a larger stigma for those seeking out basic needs.

In the years since, he has started a nonprofit, Student LunchBox, that delivers fresh produce, canned goods, grains, dairy, meat, and poultry across 10 Southern California community colleges and university pantries, helping students in need get easier access to food.

A 2023 fall survey by the Community College League of California found that nearly half of California community college students are food insecure. Rates have improved by about 3% since 2019 — because of pantries and basic needs offerings.

Alone on minimum wage

Two years after emigrating from Armenia with his family in 2008, Nurijanyan enrolled at SMC. He lived alone, without a vehicle and surviving on minimum wage. While financial aid covered some expenses, he found himself constantly looking for his next meal.

“I was only making $11 an hour,” said Nurijanyan of his time in Santa Monica. “The situation got so severe that I would sleep in the middle of my classes so I wouldn't feel the hunger.”

Nurijanyan later found student aid at the university level, citing UCLA’s Co-Op as a monumental step in reaching his basic needs. He graduated from UCLA, got a master’s degree at California State University, Long Beach, and eventually landed a job in human resources. But during the pandemic, he left that career to work at a Trader Joe’s in Westwood.

He saw glimpses of his past: hungry college students looking for their next meal in an uncertain time.

Creating the change

Nurijanyan embarked on his dream and worked to create a nonprofit organization he wished he could have used at his time in community college. He opened Student LunchBox (SLB) in 2019.

Student LunchBox creator Karlen Nurijanyan.

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Courtesy of Karlen Nurijanyan

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Armed with a tent, a couple tables, crates of food, student volunteers, and a good playlist, the nonprofit holds pop-up food distributions at campuses. It also works to destigmatize food and financial insecurity by bringing the distribution process out in the open.

Today, SLB serves around 4,500 students per month across 10 Southern California campuses. And Nurijanyan’s statistics reveal that the need is prevalent; SLB recorded a 58% increase from 2022, with more than 118,000 total visits in 2023.

One of those campuses is Los Angeles Valley College in the San Fernando Valley. Every Thursday, the college has a “Monarch Market” where food is available to not just students, but community members. Tables are set up across the wall of the Campus Center building, with fruits and vegetables piled high in plastic crates. Along with the produce, there are two coolers filled with meat, dairy, and chicken, and three racks off to the side stuffed with canned goods, oil, and grains.

The line forms almost an hour before the 11:30 a.m. scheduled start time, with people getting their reusable market totes ready.

“I look like I’m over here trick or treating,” said LAVC business major and father of five Christian Guevara as he waited in line with his empty bag. “I mean, it’s a good day today to start out with this positive vibe.”

History major Malik Ervin has been attending the pop-ups since last summer. He said it’s like ‘free groceries every Thursday.’

Sustainability impact

Nurijanyan had no donors in SLB’s early days. He sourced all the food himself, going to the grocery stores and seeing mass amounts of food waste. That is where SLB’s mission statement sprouted: Rescue the “imperfect” food and donate to college students in need.

Food Forward Inc. and the Food Bank of Southern California both provide the organization with produce that would be otherwise wasted from backyard trees, public orchards, farmers markets, and grocery outlets.

While Nurijanyan cannot provide ready-to-eat grilled cheeses to students in need, he can provide the ingredients to make it themselves— for free.