The first Tuesday of December has almost become a national holiday over the years—this “Giving Tuesday” began three years ago to encourage the public to donate their money or time at the start of the holiday season, according to NPR. Giving Tuesday, however, came early for dozens of student volunteers at 42 campuses across the country who prepared over 9,400 Thanksgiving meals in tandem with the Campus Kitchens Thanksgiving “Turkeypalooza” last week.
Ten of those colleges—Emory, Georgia Tech, Northwestern, University of Vermont, University of Virginia, Washington University — Saint Louis, University of Florida, American University, GWU, and Georgetown—share a campus with Spoon University. These 10 colleges alone prepared over 1,000 meals for underprivileged families.
Photograph by Elizabeth Kennedy
“Turkeypalooza brings together student leaders at each Campus Kitchen to organize a holiday meal-making initiative for their community,” said Laura Toscano, Director of The Campus Kitchens Project. “Because each Campus Kitchens chapter serves their community on a weekly—sometimes daily—basis, they are in a unique position to be able to identify the greatest need of their respective partner agencies and meet those demands head-on.”
Founded in 2001, The Campus Kitchens Project is a national organization that empowers student volunteers to fight hunger in their community.
The Campus Kitchen at Wake Forest University is a strong example of how students can help meet the needs of their communities. Volunteers prepared and distributed over 400 meals to partners including The Children’s Home, El Buen Pastor, Azalea Terrace Senior Apartments, SECU Family House, Faith Health NC, and AIDS Care Services.
Photograph by Elizabeth Kennedy
Each Campus Kitchen goes beyond preparing meals using food as a tool to promote poverty solutions, implement garden initiatives, participate in nutrition education, and convene food policy events. During the 2013-2014 academic year, Campus Kitchens across the country rescued more than 939,034 pounds of food and served 271,967 meals to 8,509 clients.
Individuals can learn more about The Campus Kitchens Project and how to bring the program to their school by visiting www.campuskitchens.org.