Gettysburg College students cook, serve food to those in need

GETTYSBURG, Pa. - Beginning this winter, dozens of Gettysburg College students will don aprons and hairnets several times a week to make healthy and nutritious meals for those in need in Adams County.

The students will be volunteering for the newest public service program to hit campus, the Campus Kitchen at Gettysburg College, which is a food-recycling program. The program is operated by student volunteers and they reuse donated food from the college's dining hall and restaurants and grocery stores to make healthy meals. Students prepare the meals, deliver them to the community and learn about non-profit management and leadership throughout the entire process. At full capacity, the program will distribute more than 150 meals a week to those in need. The kitchen is located near campus in the South Central Community Action Program (SCCAP) building on North Stratton Street.

"The initiative is to recover food from the college's Dining Services and local restaurants, and recycle and repackage this food into nourishing meals for community members," said Louisa Polos, a student leader for the program. "Students will have the opportunity to cook meals and manage the project while working to break down barriers and build bridges as we will deliver meals personally to the elderly, single-parent families and people living in poverty, or to local social service agencies such as Circles of Support, Adams County Office of Aging, "

Gettysburg College will celebrate the new program with a kick-off event Nov. 15 at 11:30 a.m. in The Attic located in the college's West Building. Campus Kitchen program leaders and political science majors Polos, a senior from Katonah, N.Y., and Cassie Sanford, a sophomore from Geneseo, N.Y., will host the event. Cooking demonstrations at the event will showcase the kinds of foods provided and partnering organizations will be on hand to talk about the impact of the program. The highlight of the event will be remarks by Robert Egger, founder and president of D.C. Central Kitchen, a Washington, D.C.-based hunger relief organization.

The Campus Kitchen at Gettysburg College is part of a national organization that works with a dozen colleges to encourage food recycling and repurposing. The Campus Kitchens Project (CKP) is a network of community-based kitchens located on campuses that use food as a tool to strengthen bodies, empower minds and build communities. Since 2001, the project has utilized more than 150,000 volunteer hours to prepare and serve 587,000 meals. Other Campus Kitchen locations include St. Louis University, Northwestern University, Marquette University, Augsburg College, Gonzaga University, Minnesota State University at Mankato, Gonzaga College High School, University of Nebraska at Kearney, Washington and Lee University, Wake Forest University, College of William and Mary. CKP follows the effort developed at D.C. Central Kitchen in Washington, D.C., where food is donated by restaurants, banquets and hotels and reused to provide more than 4,000 meals a day to the homeless.

"D.C. Central Kitchen and Gettysburg College have a long-standing relationship of working together to inspire students to become social change leaders," said Egger. "We have taken this partnership to the next level by opening our 12th Campus Kitchen at Gettysburg College, which is a powerful example of how students can develop local solutions to fight societal issues. I am inspired by the leadership of these students and am honored to welcome Gettysburg College as part of our network of Campus Kitchens."

More information on The Campus Kitchens Project is available at www.campuskitchens.org.

Gettysburg College is a highly selective four-year residential college of liberal arts and sciences with approximately 2,600 students. It is located on a 200-acre campus adjacent to Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania. The college was founded in 1832.

Issued: 11/12/07
By: Kendra Martin

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