The Campus Kitchen at Northwestern University and Sodexo: cooking together through kitchen challenges

CKNU student volunteers turn kidney beans into chili

Each year, more than 5,000 energetic students lend their time and talents to Campus Kitchens acrossAmericaand last Sunday at the Campus Kitchen at Northwestern (CKNU) was no different.  With help from Sodexo staff, CKNU held its first cooking shift of the semester and prepared about 150 meals. Normally, CKNU uses food that has already been prepared and recovered, so you may be wondering – why cook?  Well, a few weeks ago a Leadership Team member noticed a large number of kidney beans in the pantry that would expire in the next few months.  Instead of letting the beans expire, students got creative and searched the pantry for other items that would work with the beans to make a meal.

With the help of Grace Knight, Lead Manager at Allison Dining Hall who kindly volunteered her Sunday, volunteers were able to use the beans in a chili.  Grace helped students choose a recipe, cut up vegetables, and showed the Leadership Team the secret to perfectly seasoned chili. Sunday is just one example of how Sodexo and its staff support the CKNU.

Sodexo has supported CKNU since the kitchen was founded in 2003, and has donated almost 7,000 pounds since August alone. Sodexo has also supported CKNU during various seasonal events. Last November, they supported CKNU during TurkeyPalooza by donating over 1,500 pounds of food and helping volunteers cook and slice turkeys, and in the summer of 2011, Sodexo helped distribute 22,000 meals through the Feeding Our Future program.

Sodexo District Manager Steve Mangan recognized the importance of the partnership. “Feeding the hungry goes hand-in-hand with our dining operation at Northwestern and is a part of Sodexo’s commitment to the communities we serve,” Mangan states. “The Campus Kitchen atNorthwesternUniversityhas been an integral partner in our efforts for many years. We look forward to growing this relationship and moving it forward.”

Sodexo and CKNU do not only share a common kitchen, but also a common goal: teach, reach, feed, and lead. We look forward to the next cooking shift and any challenges it may pose – does anyone have any ideas on how we can cook with peanut butter?