Frequently Asked Questions >>
WHAT IS A CAMPUS KITCHEN?
A Campus Kitchen is an on-campus community service program that feed the school’s
neighboring community while providing service opportunities for students. Each
Campus Kitchen provides meals free of charge to individuals and agencies in communities
surrounding college, university, and high school campuses around the country.
The meals are prepared using food donated from campus dining halls by student
volunteers who share kitchen space in a cafeteria on campus and then deliver the
meals themselves. Student volunteers also provide empowerment-based education
to clients, such as nutrition education to children, healthy cooking classes to
families, and culinary job training to unemployed adults.
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WHERE DOES THE CAMPUS KITCHEN OPERATE?
Campus Kitchens operate out of shared, on-campus dining hall kitchens, and work
well in cooperation with a kitchen that is in use – the program does not
need exclusive use of a facility. Campus Kitchens work very well in facilities
that are closed for regular operations during the weekends, but our flexibility
allows us to work around that of almost any dining unit. Space feasibility for
a Campus Kitchen generally includes a small amount of refrigerated storage, frozen
storage, and dry storage.
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WHEN DOES THE CAMPUS KITCHEN OPERATE?
The Campus Kitchen is designed to fit around the schedules of both students and
dining services. Most Campus Kitchens operate 4 to 6 days per week, for shifts
of 2 to 4 hours per day. One example of a Campus Kitchen’s schedule is:
Monday & Wednesday: 7:00–9:00 Cooking Shift (students are in the kitchen,
preparing meals)
Tuesday & Thursday: 4:00–6:00 Delivery Shift (students pick up food
and deliver it in the community)
Sunday: 2:00–4:00 Cooking Shift, 4:00–6:00 Delivery Shift
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WHERE DOES THE FOOD COME FROM?
The food used by the Campus Kitchen comes from a variety of different sources,
including surplus food from Dining Services production, area food banks, local
restaurants, farmers’ markets, food drives, and some food purchasing. Approximately
50% of the food for the program comes from on-campus dining halls.
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WE DON’T HAVE MUCH FOOD WASTE HERE. WILL WE
HAVE TO BUY FOOD TO SUPPORT THE CAMPUS KITCHEN?
Definitely not. We understand that our host schools work hard to minimize waste
and food surplus, and that hundreds of pounds of food aren’t readily available
each day. Each Campus Kitchen is relatively small in volume, so small quantities
of food donations, such as five chicken breasts or a half-pan of vegetables go
a long way. For those days where there are no food donations from Dining Services,
the Campus Kitchen maintains food resources from its other donors, never relying
on one source for its food.
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WHAT DOES THE CAMPUS KITCHEN DO TO ENSURE SAFE
AND SANITARY PRACTICES?
The Campus Kitchens Project works under the same rules and regulations as any
foodservice unit on campus. The Campus Kitchen is required to have students and
staff complete the Serv-Safe Sanitation training program and receive Food Handler’s
Permits for the state in which the Campus Kitchen is located. In addition to the
complete volunteer training, students are held to the same safety and sanitation
standards as all kitchen workers. From HACCP procedures to hand-washing, the Campus
Kitchen works diligently to uphold all safety practices in the kitchen, as well
as on deliveries. In addition, the Campus Kitchen undergoes the same periodic
Food Safety Audit as the Foodservice unit on campus.
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HOW MANY MEALS DOES A CAMPUS KITCHEN PREPARE AND
DELIVER?
Most Campus Kitchens will serve between 300 and 800 meals a week on a regular
basis. The number of meals prepared and delivered at a Campus Kitchen varies according
to the size and staffing of the Campus Kitchen, and grows as the program gains
more food resources and volunteers. A typical Campus Kitchen begins its operations
by providing approximately 200 meals per week. Within six months, most Campus
Kitchens provide more than 500 meals per week.
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TO WHOM ARE THE MEALS DELIVERED?
The meals are delivered to families, children and homebound seniors in the community.
Congregate meals are delivered to agencies that provide services such as shelter,
rehabilitation and counseling to their clients. Senior meals are paired with social
services, health care and senior activities, and snacks are paired with tutoring
and mentoring programs. We believe that “free food” is not a sufficient
answer to hunger, but by pairing meals with social services, we can achieve more
in the community.
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HOW ARE MEALS TRANSPORTED?
Meals are transported either in vehicles which are refrigerated for cargo, or
in volunteers’ personal vehicles. Meals for the Campus Kitchen are transported
to their destinations cold and are stored in insulated bags to maintain safe temperatures.
Volunteers who use their own vehicles assume the liability for their work with
the Campus Kitchen delivering meals.
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WHAT DO YOU DO DURING BREAKS AND HOLIDAYS?
Most Campus Kitchens operate year-round, relying on their staff member to ensure
that the program has adequate food, volunteers, and space availability school
vacations and holidays. Often, breaks and holidays are a great time to engage
local community members, corporate groups, and faculty in support of your Campus
Kitchen.
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WHO ADMINISTERS EACH CAMPUS KITCHEN?
Usually, the Campus Kitchen is housed within a community service office or student
life office at the host school. Each Campus Kitchen works as a partnership among
Dining Services, the school’s community service office, and a combination
of community and school entities, including student-run service organizations,
service learning programs, and community agencies. The work is most often overseen
by a staff member, and each Campus Kitchen is staffed in a way that is appropriate
for the size of its program.
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WHAT DOES THE CAMPUS KITCHENS PROEJCT OFFER TO
ITS AFFILIATES?
The Campus Kitchens Project provides start-up funding, training and set-up, ongoing
support, a complete food safety and sanitation paperwork system, programmatic
materials, event kits, and ongoing technical assistance to each Campus Kitchen.
A complete list of our services is also available.
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WHO DOES ALL OF THE WORK?
The operations of the Campus Kitchen are carried out primarily by student volunteers,
but are also supported by the staff member for the program, faculty, and school
staff. Dining Services staff members on each campus or in the surrounding area
also provide support and training. Each Campus Kitchen has a Leadership Team of
students who guide the activities and work of the local Campus Kitchen.
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HOW ARE STAFF MEMBERS AND VOLUNTEERS TRAINED?
The Campus Kitchens Project has developed a week-long training based on our Standards
of Excellence, which are used to assess the success and safety of each Campus
Kitchen. CKP provides this training to all new Campus Kitchens, as well as to
new staff members on a regular basis. On the local level, each student volunteer
is trained in food safety and basic food preparation skills, as well as additional
food delivery practices. Students must attend a training session before becoming
regular Campus Kitchen volunteers. Additionally, CKP holds a mandatory annual
conference for students and staff that provides more advanced training to the
most involved students.
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WHAT KIND OF CAMPUSES DOES THE CAMPUS KITCHEN WORK
WELL ON?
The program works best on campuses where there is a strong partnership, or a desire
for partnership, between the school, Dining Services, and local community agencies,
and where there is an existing way for students to engage in leadership, community
service, or service learning.
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WHAT’S IT GOING TO COST?
The hard costs of bringing a Campus Kitchen to your campus are very few –
less than $10,000 per year plus staffing for the program which can range from
100% student-run to a full time staff member at your school. Additionally, a dining
hall on campus must be able to provide shared kitchen space for the Campus Kitchen,
as well as donate food.
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DOES THE CAMPUS KITCHENS PROJECT PROVIDE FUNDING?
Yes! The Campus Kitchens Project offers up to three years of start-up grants to
start your Campus Kitchen. As you work through the affiliation process, you will
develop a budget and request a start-up grant for your Campus Kitchen. Most start-up
grants work on a “step-down” system, so that the school takes slightly
more fiscal responsibility for the program each year.
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WHAT ABOUT LIABILITY?
Each school assumes the liability for its own Campus Kitchen program. Most schools
find that this program does not require any additional insurance, though some
have taken out policies specifically to protect the program. Schools are encouraged
to have students and meal recipients sign liability waivers. Additionally, the
Good Samaritan Act is a federal act that protects both companies who donate food
and the organizations who receive meals through programs like the Campus Kitchen.
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