On a warm, 80-degree Wednesday morning in Santa Maria, it felt more like July until the smell of oven-baked turkey and warm cornbread drifted out of Allan Hancock College’s Student Center.

Inside, the Associated Student Body Government brought together students, family and staff for its 12th annual Taste of Home Thanksgiving meal. Organizers said the goal is to provide something familiar for the students who cannot travel home for the holiday.

“It’s so families and friends can gather throughout the Allan Hancock College community,” ASBG Executive Vice President Liles said, “especially the athletes that aren’t able to go back home — we have some as far as American Samoa and then Philadelphia.”

The Student Center was decorated with fall colors, paper leaves and pumpkins taped along the walls, with each table set to look like a holiday place setting. Students lined up for turkey, stuffing, cornbread and green beans prepared by DMQ Catering, and the room filled quickly as people settled in with friends or joined tables with people they had not met before. The steady conversations, packed tables and warm food gave the gathering the feel of a large family dinner.

Although the lunch is centered on Hancock students and staff, Liles said ASBG keeps the doors open to anyone who wants a holiday meal.

“We try not to turn anyone down in case some people don’t have food,” she said. “We plan to feed 250 people today.”

By 12:30 p.m., organizers had counted 238 people signed in, with more arriving as the event continued.

Liles, an agricultural business major who hopes to transfer to Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, said helping coordinate this year’s Taste of Home was a rewarding part of her role in student government.

“I just love to see everyone gather and talk and smile, and to put a smile on their faces and see them enjoy their company,” she said.

Just outside the Student Center, 7-year-old Hosea sat under a tree with an orange tabby kitten named Simba, who had caught the attention of several attendees earlier in the day. He said his family found the kitten as a tiny stray hiding in a bush, and now Simba rarely leaves his side.

Hosea kept his plate of food on the ground beside him while he played, taking bites between sharing his knowledge of animals, insects and math.

“I’m also super strong,”  he said.

Nearby, his father, Emmanuel Hernandez, watched with a smile as Hosea darted across the grass, the orange cat not far behind.

“It’s the best thing that’s happened to me,” Hernandez said of becoming a father.

Hernandez said he grew up in Santa Maria and spent much of his adolescence in group homes before serving time in prison, a past he said pushed him to focus on giving his son something different. He later earned a trucker’s license before eventually enrolling at Allan Hancock College.

“I’m thankful for school right now. School’s been cool. Nicest people I ever met,” he said.

Hernandez chose to study psychology, a decision he said is directly tied to raising Hosea.

“I was taking it for my son,” he said. “I’ve been a single dad since he was 3 months old, and it’s helped me with my personal growth and my attachment styles.”

His goal, he said, is to give Hosea the kind of attention and care he wishes he had received growing up.

“It’s a perpetuated thing you know that we carry, just negligence … and we don’t treat the little kids like little humans,” Hernandez said. “He’s going to have a better, more intentional upbringing and a better mindset than I did.”

As the event wound down, he said the chance to study at Hancock and spend time with his son in moments such as Wednesday’s meal is what keeps him focused on building that more intentional future.

“I’m growing, too, right now,” Hernandez said. “I feel the happiest right now.”