The Utah Tech University Student Organization of Latinos hosted a fundraiser Feb. 5 to raise funds for the club, collaborating with a local business to connect the campus with the community.
SOL brought in local farmers market eatery Los Munchies to cater for a fundraiser event to raise money for future club endeavors. SOL president Ethan Aparicio, a junior psychology major from St. George, emphasized the importance of fundraising events, especially being one of the culture clubs on campus.
“Being one of the culture clubs, I feel like our clubs are dependent on events where we can bring food, or we can bring activities that are more costly,” Aparicio said. “This fundraiser is to raise funds so we can either bring catering to our events or get things that we can have more fun with.”
The fundraiser started at 4 p.m. outside of the Gardner Student Center, where dozens of students and community members waited to order. Los Munchies set up under a canopy and offered a wide variety of food and drink options.
Some fan favorites of the day were the agua frescas and mangonada.
“The food was awesome. I got their mangonada, and it was delicious,” said Sebastian Rosas, a freshman population health major from Anaheim, California.
Other students showed up not only for the good food, but also in support of the Latin American community.
“Gotta show up and support our Latino students. It was so worth the wait for all the good food,” said Jazmen Antoine, a sophomore population health student from West Covina, California.
Los Munchies understands the importance of the Latin community at Utah Tech.
“As a first-gen Mexican-American, we need to support our young adults striving to learn and make a career… our parents have risked a lot to give us that opportunity,” said Cece Exiga, owner of Los Munchies.
The collaboration between SOL and Los Munchies was a result of the bond between Aparicio and Exiga. “She’s [Exiga] always been down to do this collab. She’s always been down to donate to our club, and she’s always there when I need her,” Aparicio said.
Exiga and Aparicio both have a vision of connecting the local Latin American community through campus events.
“If we have Latin Americans coming in from all over town to come and be at an event and express gratitude to our people, to our club, to our campus, I think it’s very special and important,” Aparicio said.
The fundraiser was a success, with Los Munchies selling out by 6 p.m. Los Munchies expressed their appreciation for all those who came to support.
“We are incredibly grateful for the amount of support we received. Thank you to everyone who came, supported and shared the event,” Exiga said.
Los Munchies can be found at the Downtown Farmers Market Saturdays at Vernon Worthen Park.
