Breakfast is Served at Santa Barbara City College if You Get There in a Sustainable Way

When if comes to “food for thought” Santa Barbara City College was dishing it out this week for students who did not come to school alone in a car. Any other way, was enough to get them a free breakfast. The special event was held Thursday morning and the school was prepared to serve hundreds of hungry students.

Pancakes, sausage, orange juice, coffee, smoothies and more were offered if students said they did not drive alone and chose a different way to get to school. It was part of a larger plan to reduce the number of cars on campus where parking is challenging.

One student, Jesse Crouse-Tell had a breakfast plate in one hand, a skateboard in the other and said he never expected to get a free breakfast just for riding his board to campus. He says he does a combo – parking his car nearby, off campus and riding the rest of the way.

Perrin Pellegrin with the SBCC commute program asked students how they got to campus and if it was one of the many ways that earned them a meal, such as walking, running, biking, taking the bus or a skateboard, she offered them a hearty breakfast.

Nearby the Zip car service was set up. It provides a rental or loaner car for those who only need a vehicle occasionally. Once you pay a sign up fee you can get a car for $7.50 an hour or $69. a day with gas and insurance included. Students can pick up one on the campus, in town, at the airport or at UC Santa Barbara. It is also offered to the public.

Local modern-rock station KJEE 92.9 was playing music, and hosting on site games to encourage the students to enjoy the breakfast scene if they were using sustainable transportation. That also allowed them to win CD’s, t-shirts, and concert tickets from the very enthusiastic afternoon announcer, Phat J.

The first weeks on campus are often very congested and this promotion helps to ease the path to a higher education.

Slideshow: Promoting Sustainable Transportation at SBCC