Campus Kitchen
Encyclopedia
A Campus Kitchen is an on-campus student service program that is a member of the nonprofit organization, The Campus Kitchens Project. At a Campus Kitchen, students use on-campus kitchen space and donated food from their cafeterias to prepare and deliver nourishing meals to their communities.
The organization is headquartered in Washington, D.C.
on the campus of Gonzaga College High School
. There are currently 25 Campus Kitchens, located in Saint Louis, Missouri; Greater Chicago, Illinois; Milwaukee, Wisconsin
; Minneapolis, Minnesota
; Spokane, Washington
; Mankato, Minnesota
; Washington, D.C.
; Lexington, Virginia
; Winston-Salem, North Carolina
; Kearney, Nebraska
; Williamsburg, Virginia
; Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
; Baltimore, Maryland; and more (see full list of Campus Kitchens below). A previous Campus Kitchen at Dillard University
in New Orleans, LA is on hiatus due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina
.
, a successful local community kitchen model in Washington DC. The way it happened was kind of a marriage of two concepts.
In 1989, Robert Egger, founder and CEO of DC Central Kitchen, pioneered the idea of recycling food from around Washington DC and using it as a tool to train unemployed adults to develop valuable work skills. DCCK became a national model, and as the idea grew, Robert was looking for a way to engage schools in the effort. He piloted a job training program with the American School Food Service, he regularly engaged high school and college students as volunteers at DCCK, and he spoke at universities all over the country.
In 1999, two Wake Forest University
students, Jessica Shortall and Karen Borchert, created a small student organization called Homerun that engaged students in cooking and delivering dinners to folks in the community. What started as a hobby instead became a successful campus organization.
In 2001, the two concepts came together, and with a start-up grant from the Sodexo Foundation, The Campus Kitchens Project piloted its first program at Saint Louis University
in Missouri.
The organization is headquartered in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
on the campus of Gonzaga College High School
Gonzaga College High School
Gonzaga College High School is a Jesuit high school for boys located in Washington, D.C. The school is named in honor of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, an Italian saint from the 16th century...
. There are currently 25 Campus Kitchens, located in Saint Louis, Missouri; Greater Chicago, Illinois; Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
; Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
; Spokane, Washington
Spokane, Washington
Spokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...
; Mankato, Minnesota
Mankato, Minnesota
Mankato is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 39,309 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth largest city in Minnesota outside of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The county seat of Blue Earth County, it is located...
; Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
; Lexington, Virginia
Lexington, Virginia
Lexington is an independent city within the confines of Rockbridge County in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 7,042 in 2010. Lexington is about 55 minutes east of the West Virginia border and is about 50 miles north of Roanoke, Virginia. It was first settled in 1777.It is home to...
; Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina, with a 2010 population of 229,617. Winston-Salem is the county seat and largest city of Forsyth County and the fourth-largest city in the state. Winston-Salem is the second largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and is home to...
; Kearney, Nebraska
Kearney, Nebraska
Kearney is a city in and the county seat of Buffalo County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 30,787 at the 2010 census. It is home to the University of Nebraska-Kearney....
; Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
; Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...
; Baltimore, Maryland; and more (see full list of Campus Kitchens below). A previous Campus Kitchen at Dillard University
Dillard University
Dillard University is a private, historically black liberal arts college in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1930 incorporating earlier institutions that went back to 1869, it is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church....
in New Orleans, LA is on hiatus due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
.
Operations
- Each Campus Kitchen is hosted by a school who shares space in one dining hall’s kitchen, which is termed the “Campus Kitchen.” (Usually, this space is used during less-busy or off-hours for the dining hall, such as evenings and weekends.)
- Students go to dining halls and cafeterias at designated times to pick up unserved, usable food. (The dining services companies who donate are protected from liability concerns under the Bill EmersonBill EmersonNorvell William "Bill" Emerson was an American politician from Missouri. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1981 until his death in 1996. He was succeeded in the House by his widow, Jo Ann Emerson...
Good Samaritan Food Donation ActEmerson Good Samaritan Food Donation ActThe Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act was created to encourage food donation to nonprofits by minimizing liability, in accordance with the Model Good Samaritan Food Donation Act. Signed into law by President Bill Clinton, this law, named after Rep...
.)
- Students prepare meals using that donated food, as well as food from local food bankFood bankA food bank or foodbank is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes mostly donated food to a wide variety of agencies that in turn feed the hungry. The largest sources of food are for-profit growers, manufacturers, distributors and retailers who in the normal course of business have...
s, restaurants, and farmers markets.
- Then, students deliver meals free of charge to individuals and agencies in the school’s neighboring community in need of food assistance. Agencies include homeless shelters, food banks, soup kitchens, and individuals or families in need of food assistance.
- 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.
History
The Campus Kitchens Project was developed in 2001 as a national outgrowth of DC Central KitchenDC Central Kitchen
DC Central Kitchen is a nationally recognized "community kitchen" that recycles food from around Washington DC and uses it as a tool to train unemployed adults to develop work skills while providing thousands of meals for local service agencies in the process....
, a successful local community kitchen model in Washington DC. The way it happened was kind of a marriage of two concepts.
In 1989, Robert Egger, founder and CEO of DC Central Kitchen, pioneered the idea of recycling food from around Washington DC and using it as a tool to train unemployed adults to develop valuable work skills. DCCK became a national model, and as the idea grew, Robert was looking for a way to engage schools in the effort. He piloted a job training program with the American School Food Service, he regularly engaged high school and college students as volunteers at DCCK, and he spoke at universities all over the country.
In 1999, two Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University is a private, coeducational university in the U.S. state of North Carolina, founded in 1834. The university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina, the state capital. The Reynolda Campus, the university's main campus, is...
students, Jessica Shortall and Karen Borchert, created a small student organization called Homerun that engaged students in cooking and delivering dinners to folks in the community. What started as a hobby instead became a successful campus organization.
In 2001, the two concepts came together, and with a start-up grant from the Sodexo Foundation, The Campus Kitchens Project piloted its first program at Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University is a private, co-educational Jesuit university located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by the Most Reverend Louis Guillaume Valentin Dubourg SLU is the oldest university west of the Mississippi River. It is one of 28 member institutions of the...
in Missouri.
Current Campus Kitchens
- Elon UniversityElon UniversityElon University is a private liberal arts university in Elon, North Carolina, United States. Formerly known as Elon College, it became Elon University on June 1, 2001. The campus is a botanical garden and features oak trees, brick sidewalks, fountains, and lakes...
- Saint Louis UniversitySaint Louis UniversitySaint Louis University is a private, co-educational Jesuit university located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by the Most Reverend Louis Guillaume Valentin Dubourg SLU is the oldest university west of the Mississippi River. It is one of 28 member institutions of the...
- Northwestern UniversityNorthwestern UniversityNorthwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
- Marquette University Marquette UniversityMarquette University is a private, coeducational, Jesuit, Roman Catholic university located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1881, the school is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities...
- Augsburg CollegeAugsburg CollegeAugsburg College is a selective liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Augsburg was named for the Augsburg Confession, the document of Lutheran belief. The school was founded in 1869 in Marshall, Wisconsin as Augsburg Seminary and moved...
- Gonzaga UniversityGonzaga UniversityGonzaga University is a private Roman Catholic university located in Spokane, Washington, United States. Founded in 1887 by the Society of Jesus, it is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities and is named after the young Jesuit saint, Aloysius Gonzaga...
- Minnesota State University, MankatoMinnesota State University, MankatoMinnesota State University, Mankato is a public four-year university located in Mankato, Minnesota, a community of 53,000 located southwest of Minneapolis-St. Paul. As of Fall 2011, the student body is the third-largest in the state of Minnesota with over 15,000 students...
- Gonzaga College High SchoolGonzaga College High SchoolGonzaga College High School is a Jesuit high school for boys located in Washington, D.C. The school is named in honor of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, an Italian saint from the 16th century...
- University of Nebraska-Kearney
- Washington & Lee University
- Wake Forest UniversityWake Forest UniversityWake Forest University is a private, coeducational university in the U.S. state of North Carolina, founded in 1834. The university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina, the state capital. The Reynolda Campus, the university's main campus, is...
- College of William & Mary
- Gettysburg CollegeGettysburg CollegeGettysburg College is a private four-year liberal arts college founded in 1832, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, United States, adjacent to the famous battlefield. Its athletic teams are nicknamed the Bullets. Gettysburg College has about 2,700 students, with roughly equal numbers of men and women...
- Baylor UniversityBaylor UniversityBaylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
- University of FloridaUniversity of FloridaThe University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
- University of Maryland Eastern ShoreUniversity of Maryland Eastern ShoreUniversity of Maryland Eastern Shore located on 776 acres in Princess Anne, Maryland, United States, is part of the University System of Maryland...
- Lee UniversityLee UniversityLee University is an American accredited, private, four-year liberal arts college located in Cleveland, Tennessee, United States. It is historically affiliated with the Church of God, a Pentecostal denomination, and was the denomination's Bible Training School from 1918 until 1947, when the name...
- University of VermontUniversity of VermontThe University of Vermont comprises seven undergraduate schools, an honors college, a graduate college, and a college of medicine. The Honors College does not offer its own degrees; students in the Honors College concurrently enroll in one of the university's seven undergraduate colleges or...
- University of Wisconsin-Eau ClaireUniversity of Wisconsin-Eau ClaireThe University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire is a public liberal arts university located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System and has an annual enrollment of more than 10,000 students...
- Johns Hopkins UniversityJohns Hopkins UniversityThe Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
- East Carolina UniversityEast Carolina UniversityEast Carolina University is a public, coeducational, engaged doctoral/research university located in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. Named East Carolina University by statute and commonly known as ECU or East Carolina, the university is the largest institution of higher learning in...
- University of VirginiaUniversity of VirginiaThe University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
- St. Lawrence UniversitySt. Lawrence UniversitySt. Lawrence University is a four-year liberal arts college located in the village of Canton in Saint Lawrence County, New York, United States. It has roughly 2300 undergraduate and 100 graduate students, about equally split between male and female....
- Union CollegeUnion CollegeUnion College is a private, non-denominational liberal arts college located in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents. In the 19th century, it became the "Mother of Fraternities", as...
- Washington University in St. LouisWashington University in St. LouisWashington University in St. Louis is a private research university located in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1853, and named for George Washington, the university has students and faculty from all fifty U.S. states and more than 110 nations...
External links
- The Campus Kitchens Project Official site.
- DC Central Kitchen
- CKP Blog