The California Community College system is the largest community college system in the United States, with a current enrollment of more than 2.1 million students on 116 campuses. Demographically, more than two thirds of students enrolled in the California Community College system are people of color and most qualify for federal and/or state financial aid. Despite being eligible for financial aid, many students still struggle to achieve financial stability. Furthermore, they struggle with maintaining basic needs on a daily basis; in fact, such struggles are a national problem. To address food insecurity, many community colleges have established food pantries on their campuses. Recognizing that California community college students are people who have several vital roles to play in their lives, addressing basic needs is at the forefront in helping them to achieve academic success. This qualitative study explored the experiences of community college students who are facing food insecurity at one Southern California community college. This study included interviews of 15 students who visited food pantries on campus and their overall experience and what incentivized them to attend and return. Using trauma-informed care and Rendon's validation theory as a conceptual lens, the study found that many students come from a low-income background and that the food pantry served as a vital resource to help them stay within their budget to afford what is most essential to their livelihood. Additionally, this study found that positive and validating interactions incentivized students to attend and return to the food pantry, especially when those interactions were with people they knew and trusted (i.e., campus program staff and counselors and instructional faculty members). Offering food pantry services is a way that college campuses can cultivate care and well-being for their students, if done in an intentional way. The findings provide a better understanding of the experiences of California Community College students. From the findings, recommendations have been made to provide administrators, college personnel, and faculty with information regarding overall food insecurity. The recommendations include: (1) create a syllabus statement, (2) offer more information about how the pantry works, (3) continue drive-through pantry events post-COVID-19, (4) create an intake with a counselor for other needs, and (5) generate automated basic needs referrals. These are general recommendations for administrators, staff, and faculty who are thinking about creating more pantry awareness, creating a pantry, and/or improving their services. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]