Six New Campus Kitchens Serve Up a Satisfying Spring
In Spring 2010, the Campus Kitchens Project opened six Campus Kitchens with help from key funders and the tenacious drive of student leaders across the country.
While the Campus Kitchens successfully completed a semester of meal service to help relieve hunger in their adopted communities, each individual kitchen went above and beyond expected service with innovative events, new partnerships, and capacity building, while earning community recognition.
When contracts held up regular meal service at the Campus Kitchen at Washington University in St. Louis this Spring, the innovative student leadership team planned an Iron Chef-style event to engage potential Campus Kitchen volunteers, pitting residence halls against one another. The teams were challenged to make green salad, a choice of pork enchiladas or Philly cheese steak casserole, and banana bread with a fresh fruit topping.
The Campus Kitchen at University of Massachusetts Boston soon learned its community partner agency, Early Learning Center East, would allow the kitchen to send home goods with elementary students at the end of the day. CKUMB volunteers devised a plan to gather all of the fresh ingredients to a meal and fill grocery bags with them, along with colorful and creative recipes.
Students from the Campus Kitchen at University of Virginia used their networking skills to gather fresh produce from a local farmers market. In April, when the Charlottesville City Market opened shop, the new Campus Kitchen coordinators sent their food resourcing team to build connections, allowing for fresh vegetable deliveries to The Salvation Army this summer, in addition to frozen meals.
While some kitchens reached out to the community, others listened. The Campus Kitchen at East Carolina University found its stride by putting together an advisory board prior to initial meal service. The board consisted of members of the community like officers of the local food bank, dining services managers, and the representatives from their first two community partners: The Little Willie Center and Ronald McDonald House.
Students who signed up to volunteer at Campus Kitchen at St. Lawrence University also found themselves listening to the needs of the community in the large, congregate-style meal service setting. Often serving multiple entrée options at each gathering, volunteers began waiting tables and taking orders to prevent food waste from too many options on one plate.
The Campus Kitchen at Union College fired up its ovens January 31, and the organization has impacted the Schenectady, NY campus ever since. One recent accolade for the Campus Kitchen came from the university President himself in his charge to graduates: “I praise the difference you have made in the world beyond our campus: feeding those who desperately need help through programs like the Campus Kitchen…”
Stay tuned for what these Campus Kitchens will bring this summer and next semester.