Her Impact: What’s Cooking in Campus Kitchen?

Many of you have probably seen the silverware logo of Campus Kitchen around campus, but did you also know that it was started by two Chi Omega undergraduates here at Wake?  Karen Borchardt and Jessica Jackson, both Wake alumnas, used their favorite hobby of cooking up fun dishes to give back to the community. Borchardt and Jackson started up the on-campus project, then called Home-Run, donating their creations to the local children’s home. 

This on-campus project eventually burgeoned into the national organization, Campus Kitchen with 25 chapters nationally, including our very own Wake Forest in 2006. Shelley Graves, the staff coordinator of CK, gave us the scoop on how collegiettes can get involved!

While Shelley did not participate as a Wake Forest undergraduate on this project (it began the year after she graduated), she has a lot of experience working with nonprofits.  She became passionate about the issue of food justice when she worked for Brain Food in DC, which is an after-school program which taught inner city high school students how to cook healthy dinners on a tight budget. 

From there, she snagged the job of Staff Coordinator for the Campus Kitchen Project at Wake Forest.  This project has three main objectives:

1. Waste reduction
2. Hunger-fighting
3. General awareness

The project is almost completely student-run and uses food as a resource to support  social service agencies in the Winston-Salem area.  Graves says that Campus Kitchen serves as “the connecting point for resources and non-profit agencies that can use this food best.”

Campus Kitchen also uses its voice to advocate sustainability and food issues on campus.  The week of April 15-22^nd, CK will be hosting FOOD week with a variety of programs including its annual Chili-Cookoff, where student groups and/or organizations can enter their very own recipe and wander the quad enjoying delicious chili!  CK will also be showing the documentary Lunch-Line to educate students on the history of on-campus school lunches. 

Graves makes it clear that ANYONE can become involved Campus Kitchen, whether you’re a chef extraordinaire or your go-to dish is cereal.  Campus Kitchen aims to involve students, utilizing their interests and talents, whether it be PR or the actual cooking itself.  There are three different shifts offered: Cooking, Delivery, or Food Pick-Up — all of which can be seen on www.ckwfu.org! In addition to these three shifts, volunteers can help with planning on-campus events and making Campus Kitchen and its platform more visible on campus. 

“Campus Kitchen is a great example of what collegiettes™ can do when they partner with Wake to make their idea a reality,” Graves explains.  This national non-profit started off with two roommates, a passion for cooking, and a desire to serve the community.  So, how can you connect your passions and the “pro-Humanitate” motto to create the next big thing?