HCC Central Campus celebrates Wellness Day with reopening of Eagle Market, Eagle Mile

By Donald Sparks, HCC Central Communications Director

Apr 17, 2024

On Wellness Day, the HCC Central Campus celebrated two ribbon-cutting ceremonies – reopening the campus’ Eagle Market center and opening the Eagle Mile walk path.

Five years ago, shelves at the HCC Central Campus were stocked with food items to support students’ holistic needs and struggling to find food to eat. As the Eagle Market was preparing to open its doors to provide food assistance, the COVID pandemic shut down the entire college, forcing donated food items to be tossed away.

Today as part of its Wellness Day, aimed at providing resources for a healthier lifestyle, HCC Central Campus celebrated two ribbon-cutting ceremonies – reopening the campus’ Eagle Market center and opening the Eagle Mile walk path.

Shelves were filled with canned goods, cereal, beans, peanut butter and other nonperishable items such as rice and pasta. Baskets were filled with perishable items such as onions and potatoes and refrigerators containing meat and almond milk were available for recipients to collect.

“We realize some students have more food insecurity than others, so this project is based on helping students,” said Dr. Muddassir Siddiqi, HCC Central College president. “We want students to complete their education without worrying about one of the basic fundamental human needs. That's the purpose of this center.”

Siddiqi praised Dr. Stacy Welcome, dean of student success, and her entire team for their efforts to address the needs of the students and partnering with nonprofit organizations in Houston to restore the market.

“Coming out of COVID, the students were dealing with non-academic stressors, and so our Eagle Market was a labor of love that was spearheaded through our district to deal with food insecurity,” Welcome said. “We worked with Dr. Mahnaz Kolaini, director of counseling & ability services (deputy coordinator Title IX), through our district and partnered with the Houston Food Bank, Helping Hands Charity Inc. and other nonprofit organizations to bring the Eagle Markets to each of our colleges serving our students.”

The event also featured cooking demonstrations from HCC’s Culinary students, showcasing healthy and delicious recipes using ingredients found at the Eagle Market, to empower attendees to make more nutritious food choices.

Prior to restocking the market, Welcome mentioned students provided feedback on the type of food items they preferred to meet dietary restrictions such as vegan, gluten free options and international foods. They provided feedback to the nonprofit organizations to collect and distribute those items.

The Eagle Market offers food relief to anyone who is currently enrolled and employed with HCC and recipients are allowed up to 60 pounds of food per month.

For Sandra Shimba, HCC Central Eagle Market manager, the opening of the center meant a lot to her.

“It puts a lot of joy and a sense of accomplishment in my heart, just in the sense that some people are going through a rough time right now and could use a little help,” Shimba said. “I look forward to seeing them (students) coming in and recognizing the resources that we have on campus. This is really an accomplishment.”

Welcome also highlighted the rebranding of the fitness center to its new name – Wellness Center – and the creation of six dimensions of wellness to foster a healthier lifestyle for HCC students, faculty and staff members.

“We wanted to incorporate those dimensions of emotional, social, cultural, financial, career and physical wellness; and what better way to facilitate the physical aspect by creating a one mile walk path,” she said. “It’s a beautiful campus and the walk provides a scenic break from dealing with stress.”

Welcome added she hopes people get up, get out, take their break and walk.

“This day was a labor of love, and we have a lot of great and exciting things happening in the future,” she said.

The Eagle Market offers food relief to anyone who is currently enrolled and employed with HCC and recipients are allowed up to 60 pounds of food per month.