CKP Conference Blog-O-Rama!

Marty Demoret UNK 10/7/06 6:30pm STRATEGIC PLANNING

We talked about great ideas national programs have and have implemented. We then discussed goals we have for the near future and over the next year. We shared ideas and then used those ideas to develop a program-specific plan of action for our Campus Kitchen.

I learned about possible ways to initiate programs I want to do at UNK. I also had the opportunity to discuss goals with other CKP leaders and then work with several of my leadership team members to further develop those goals into working models for our campus kitchen.

I’ll take back with me a collective vision from those of us who attended this conference as well as a greater understanding of how to achieve those goals.

Sammie Eckerson MNSU l0/7/06 1:30pm DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE GRANT PROPOSALS

We learned the basic components of grant writing and grant proposals, reviewed the right/wrong/different way(s) to write grants. We also looked at before and after grant proposals, best practices, and discussed what we each do.

We learned different ways to write the components of local, state, and federal grants, and that they don’t always have to be intellectual – they can be “breezy” and more personal in some areas, and we heard some different before and after grants. We also learned about different websites and databases to look for grants, and about the book, “Grant Writing 4 Dummies,” a book for students. This is good for CKP grant writers who are just starting.

We hope we can get Patricia Jordan to come to MNSU! She’d be good for the professors and the staff.

Jamie Wendt UNK 10/7/06 1:30pm STRATEGIC PLANNING

We talked about the most important new ideas we have learned through out the conference. We each made an action plan. I learned to put all these new ideas to use, specifically many fundraising ideas, volunteers’ ideas, and business connections ideas.

Brian Shreves UNK 10/7/06 11:45am RECRUIT, MOTIVATE, AND SUCCEED: EFFECTIVE V OLUNTEER RECRUITMENT

In the discussion of how to gain and retain volunteers I learned to be aware of the volunteers’ needs and the importance of being responsible with the volunteers’ time – be prepared! We learned that networking is a great resource to tapping the volunteer pool, as is working with the Rotary. Look towards high schoolers and youth groups. Create a unique culture to motivate volunteers. Empower volunteers to help them realize the goal of the group.

When I go back to my CK, I’ll be sure never to waste volunteers’ time and always be prepared for the shifts so they will be smooth, efficient, and fun. We will look to community for volunteers and around the campus where students might be neglected. I’ll try to have a volunteer appreciation, like an outing or a cook-out to have fun and to publicize our group.

Volunteers need to know how important they are; they need to understand they are respected, but also accountable. Remember, volunteers may lose sight of the mission and what they really are doing. Keep it fun!

Amy Basa Northwestern l0/7/96 11:45am PREPARE YOUR CAMPUS FOR CULINARY JOB TRAINING

Becky had prepared a powerpoint for us on the many components of culinary job training as well as how to get a training program started on our own campus. We talked about creating a strong program and learned about past classes and experiences. Since I participate in the program at Northwestern I was somewhat familiar with the program, but today I learned about the actual concepts that were taught, as well as the serv-safe lessons and life skills lessons.

I’m really excited to know more about the culinary job training program, and I hope that I can bring some good ideas back to our program. We talked about places where you can look for community partners to help teach the lessons as well as guest chefs. We also talked about how important it is to let the trainees know that we need them to help us just as much as they need us.

Megan Boss UNK 10/7/06 11:45 am DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE GRANT PROPOSALS

We started by discussing our individual campus kitchen experiences in grant writing. We threw out ideas for sources of grants. Patricia Jordan gave us an overview of a proposal, helped us realize the goals and outcomes we hope to achieve with receiving a grant, and provided us with some grant proposal examples. We learned which items are necessary and which are unnecessary to write an effective grant proposal.

I plan to read through the information Patricia provided and use the outline and examples to help the Leadership Team write great grant proposals.

Jenna Grime CKSLU 10/7/06 11:45 am TAKING A STRENGTHS BASED APPROACH TO CLIENT SERVICES

Introduced to National Student Partnerships (NSP), founded at Yale in 1998. We met “Wally” and discussed why Wally might by hungry. We listed the reasons and made connections between them all. What role all of these “reasons” play in how volunteers perceive clients. We looked at NSP’s best practices of interaction and determined which would be valuable to our CK. We learned what makes focusing on the strengths based approach to clients difficult – time. The goal of Culinary Job Training (CJT) is to help the client with skills in one of these areas that can then translate to the other areas.

We learned: 1 to balance immediate needs with long-term goals (clarify that CJ T is not always enough and may require longer term goals;) 2 to help volunteers with their own values/biases (think thru experiences volunteers have had in past with this specific demographic;) 3.to ask open ended questions (what’s your favorite meal we’ve served?) 4. to help talkative clients focus. The strength based approach to case management emphasizes solutions rather than problems. All persons have strengths that can be harnessed to improve the quality of their life and to reach their goals.

I’ll get a social work student to create a manual of client interaction “best practices” (see NSP’s as model.) We’ll create notes about clients in delivery binders (e.g. Mr. Pate’s daughter lives in Pittsburgh – when will she come home for Christmas? what will our responsibility be while she’s here?) We will help clients celebrate small successes.

Kate Strycker SLU 10/7/06 10:50am BEING IN CONTROL OF YOUR KITCHEN

We talked about the logistics of leading and running a kitchen, about basic needs and approaches to achieve success in the kitchen. We learned valuable information concerning what to do in case of an emergency, how to use creativity with available resources, and basic food managing skills.

I got a better grip on how to lead shifts and direct volunteers. I feel more comfortable now that we’ve discussed ideas concerning how to handle shifts and the kitchen.

Samina Sulemanjee CKNU l0/6/06 10:30 am VISION STATEMENT Student Track

We discussed how each CK differs. We did a 25 minute exercise with straws and masking tape to build a free standing structure with one piece of paper. Brainstorming afterwards showed how much we have in common (our straws and tapes) and what challenges we face. We experienced creativity and teamwork and improvising during our exercise. We learned about the unique CK dynamics across universities and our similar goals, passions, volunteers, commitment, Leadership Training (LT), and seeing clients as people. We face the challenges of dedication, publicity, recruiting, donations, competition vs. collaboration, paperwork, consistency with food, accountability. Our LT needs to brainstorm. Let’s attack 3 challenges at a time and follow through on our plan of action.

Rosemary Boyle W&L 10/7/06 9:55am ENGAGING GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

We listened to Ross Wilson discuss how to engage public officials in ways that benefit the goals and root problems CKP is pursuing. We learned how to go about using government officials as a resource to create a partnership that has a bigger impact than would be possible without them. I want to share the skills and confidence to approach government officials that I learned with others in my kitchen so we can use their influence to bring about greater change in the community.

Brian Larkin GCHS 10/7/06 9:55 am BASICS OF NONPROFIT FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

Glenda Cognevich spoke on the differences between profit-based companies and non-profits. She had a great power point presentation on the importance of budgets, as well. I don’t know much about our budget since it’s handled by our business department. I learned a lot about that as well as the importance of keeping all the invoices updated.

I’m going to bring back to GCHS the importance of being diligent and organized with the invoices. Hearing Jenna (SLU) speak about the problems she had made me want to keep organized. Also, I’d like to get more hands-on with our budget.

Hannah Pack WLU 10/7/06 9:55 am SECURING FOOD & COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS

We had workshops on enhancing one’s leadership abilities, met the staff of DCCK, did meal delivery with Gonzaga High School. We encountered new personnel (students, coordinators, etc… with the same passion for CKP. We learned to make effective goals and how to go about reaching them. I left highly motivated to make CK a successful organization at W&L.

CKWFU 10/7/06 9:55 am STEP BY STEP: COMPLIANCE

We reviewed the resource manual, sections, and what they are used for. We reviewed the annual audit and discussed how to use it beforehand in order to improve our kitchen. We learned a lot more about the resource manual and got ideas about how to use it and how to empower leaders to use it. We also got more ideas about sustainability. We’ll use these new ideas about using the audits to improve our CK and resolve problems before they begin.

Carrie Rapinski CKMU 10/7/06 9am MARKETING/PROMOTION BREAKOUT

So what do we do wrong with our marketing schemes? What most of us think is important is spreading the great message and mission of CKP. OK -- yes – we definitely do want to do that and achieve it through informing our volunteers and the community about what we do. But in order to let more people know about CKP and what great things we do, it is necessary to get our audience’s attention – get them interested in the organization. And we can’t always do that through our mission statement or by lecturing about how crucial an issue hunger and personal empowerment is in our country. We need to do it by catering our marketing to their interests and their lifestyle. By “hitting home” and really taking into account what college students want to hear or experience, we could build the best base for a marketing plan that will be successful for CKP’s growth and success.

Rebecca Teichmann CKGU 10/7/06 9am TIME TO TRANSITION

In groups of three, we brainstormed 10 things we wished we had known when we started with CKP. We found that if you set timelines, then information will be transferred more efficiently and tasks will be completed in a timely manner. Set up a calendar: mark off “dead days,” then work in goals. Use the intranet for staffing!

We will encourage students to research the organization on the internet before an interview to weed out candidates who aren’t serious. If you recruit in the spring you won’t have to start from scratch in the fall! These are good recommendations, especially when there is a change in coordinators!

CKAC 10/7/06 9am TEACHING SAFE KITCHEN HABITS

We focused on key kitchen safety techniques, how to keep people thinking about safety, and discussed ways to keep food safety interesting. We discussed calibrating thermometers, HACCP {?} plan. We created a lesson plan for a food safety lesson on thawing procedures. We also discussed turning kitchen safety into games/contests.

We learned that we often need to focus on personal hygiene first, “focus and repetition,” and offer rewards and incentive for safety compliance. We learned ways to make food safety competitive and fun. We also learned about equipment to help with food safety that we might be able to get free from EchoLab.

I’ll have a quick shift meeting at the beginning of each shift to focus on safety and have daily health inspection by volunteers – using Health Department guidelines. If possible, we’d get the Health Department people involved. I’ll use the ServSafe Jeopardy game.

Caitlin Schopp CKW&L l0/7/06 9:00am THERE DOESN’T HAVE TO BE A POT OF GOLD

First we did a get-to-know you activity that identified each DK’s dreams and key partners who can help make these dreams a reality. Then we all answered some questions like “How does friend making relate to fundraising?” or “What makes a successful fundraiser?” Then we did mind-mapping to brainstorm for “5 for 5.” We also looked over a fundraising action plan and some booklets that detail some fundraising ideas.

We got lots of ideas with the booklets they gave us and EVEN MORE inspiration and motivation. I also learned about everyone’s experiences, and I had never mind-mapped before! Mind-mapping is a cool way of brainstorming on a chalkboard or a marker board, where everyone puts their ideas up and branches off others without any inhibitions! It worked really well -- by the end we had a TON of ideas!

I have more fundraising ideas than before this session and I have a great sense of motivation and inspiration to take back with me!

CKAC 10/6/06 3pm MEAL DELIVERY

Megan Heeney CKSLU l0/6/06 1:00pm LEADERSHIP CONSTITUTION

We reviewed the pre-lunch activities and came to know our challenges and our
commonalities/resources. We presented our 3 goals in 3 groups. This created 9 goals with plans for meeting and measuring them. We decided to narrow these down to three: 1. Increase aware ness through marketing; 2. Increase volunteer dedication; 3. Improve communication. I thought we would all have different goals, but every year I’m amazed at how we all come to consensus readily and all our needs converge. It would be beneficial to go through the same process with our LT. Hopefully we’ll be able to apply these goals in our own schools and build our communal network, through our communication goal.