One in six Americans face hunger while 70 billion pounds of food go to waste each year, according to Feeding America.
Campus Kitchen Projects across the country are working to end both problems, one meal at a time. So far, they’ve served two million meals.
DC Campus Kitchen launched the first of many Sunday fellowship breakfasts at St. Luke’s Mission Center in Glover Park, on Aug. 11. The breakfast is free, open to the public and served from 7 to 9 a.m. every other Sunday.
The National Campus Kitchen Project also recently marked its two millionth meal, served during an Aug. 6 event with Glover Park Village at The Guy Mason Center.
DC Central Kitchen began The Campus Kitchen Project in 2001 in St. Louis, MO. Campus Kitchens are college and high school student-led community service projects where students prepare and serve free meals to people in need.
Campus Kitchen locations focus on food recovery, and use leftover food from commercial food operators and college cafeterias, to prepare fresh, healthy meals for low-income individuals and families.
The Kitchens use food that would otherwise go to waste, as well as kitchens that would otherwise remain dark at night.
Student leaders are responsible for reaching out to local service providers and community groups, which work with people who would benefit from free meals.
“We teach the students about developing relationship[s] out in the community and figuring out where the meals could make a difference,” Laura Toscano, national director of The Campus Kitchen Project, said. “We want them to get a sense of what programs are needed and assess the needs in their community.”
By assessing the unique needs in individual communities and developing relationships with local organizations and residents, students are able to develop a commitment to service, while gaining a better understanding of the factors that can lead to hunger.
“We’re going beyond the food to address some of the root causes of hunger and developing student leaders in the process,” Toscano said.
Students from Campus Kitchens across the country gathered in DC for a three-day training. On the second day, the participants prepared and served meals to members of Glover Park Village, a neighborhood organization offering various services to elderly individuals.
Patricia Clark, director of Glover Park Village, said DC Campus Kitchen’s twice-monthly dinners at the organization offer opportunities for intergenerational fellowship, in addition to great meals.
“It’s amazing how powerful these meals are,” Clark said. “People value this community connection over food so much.”
Approximately one-third of the Campus Kitchens nationwide seek to address senior citizen hunger and isolation.
Dorothy Bionvi, director of programming for Glover Park Village, explained because access plays such a central role in the problem of senior hunger, Glover Park Village is always looking for volunteers who can serve as drivers to deliver meals and grocery shop for homebound citizens.
“We are focused on getting the word out about these meals and working the hardest we can to identify who is really hungry,” Bionvi said. “We’ll go door to door to figure it out.”
In addition to the partnership with Glover Park Village, and the new Sunday fellowship breakfasts, DC Campus Kitchen serves food at Regency House, and is looking to expand to other service locations and reach more individuals who are in need of free, nutritious meals and community connections.
“There is nothing to celebrate about two million meals, because that’s two million too many,” Mike Curtin, CEO of DC Central Kitchen, said. “We want to see communities come together, support each other and end hunger. Not because we have to, but because we want to.”
