Casper College Students Launch Campus Kitchen to Address Hunger and Food Waste

By: Lisa S. Icenogle
The Campus Kitchen at Casper College will kick off a week-long “Raise the Dough” online fundraising challenge to benefit hunger relief efforts in Casper.

Casper College becomes 56th school in the national network

Casper College will join The Campus Kitchens Project, the leading national nonprofit empowering students to fight hunger and food waste, with the official launch of their own Campus Kitchen on Wednesday, Nov. 9. The student-led organization will turn wasted food into healthy, balanced meals for their community. With the launch of the program, the Campus Kitchen at Casper College will become the 57th Campus Kitchen and the first community college to join the national network.

At Campus Kitchens across the country, students lead efforts to combat food waste and hunger by transforming surplus food from dining halls, community gardens, restaurants, and grocery stores into healthy meals for their community. The Campus Kitchen at Casper College is sponsored by the school’s nutrition program.

 “The issues of food waste and food insecurity touch all members of our community, and I’m excited to see Casper College students working to provide practical solutions to both problems,” says Dr. Kelsey Phillips, project director for the Campus Kitchen. “I am excited to blend the curriculum of the nutrition and environmental science programs with the service of the Campus Kitchen at Casper College, and believe that the CKCC will provide our students with valuable leadership opportunities that will prepare them for any career path.”

With support from Sodexo, the Campus Kitchen at Casper College will conduct food recovery shifts from the Tobin Dining Hall three days a week. In spring 2017, the Campus Kitchen will expand to new donation partners on campus and in the community.

In the last academic year, Campus Kitchens across the country recovered more than 1.3 million pounds of wasted food and served nearly 350,000 meals. Student volunteers with the national organization also work to promote sustainable solutions to address hunger and food insecurity in their communities.

About The Campus Kitchens Project

Founded in 2001, The Campus Kitchens Project is a national organization that empowers student volunteers to fight hunger and food waste in their community. On over 50 university and high school campuses across the country, students transform unused food from dining halls, grocery stores, restaurants, and farmers’ markets into meals that are delivered to local agencies serving those in need. By taking the initiative to run a community kitchen, students develop entrepreneurial and leadership skills, along with a commitment to serve their community, that they will carry with them into future careers. Each Campus Kitchen goes beyond meals by using food as a tool to promote poverty solutions, implement garden initiatives, participate in nutrition education, and convene food policy events. To learn more about our work or bring The Campus Kitchens Project to a school, visit www.campuskitchens.org.

Media contact: Lisa S. Icenogle
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