Dr. Diane Duffin
Department of Political Science, 308-865-8758 OR duffind@unk.edu
Mobilizing Campus and Community Resources to Fight Hunger is the topic of a presentation 2:30- 4 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 8, in Room 2210 of Founders Hall at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
The presentation is sponsored by the Community for Active Citizenship, a UNK Department of Political Science program. The forum will feature Karen Borchert, co-director of Campus Kitchens Project (CKP) in Washington D.C.
The Campus Kitchens Project is a national, college-based, nonprofit organization in its third year of operations.
CKP strives to bring the DC Central Kitchen “community kitchen” model to college campuses, where students, faculty and community members can work together to effectively use existing resources to fight hunger in the community.
In addition to regular meal preparation and delivery, CKP works with university professors to create service-learning partnerships that “bring the classroom to the kitchen and the kitchen to the classroom.” CKP also conducts summer programming such as a Summer Food for Kids program and Culinary Job Training programs.
CKP was introduced in 2001. As of June 2004, there are six Campus Kitchens across the United States. To date, CKP has served more than 135,000 meals, with the help of more than 25,000 volunteer hours.
Borchert, a Nebraska native, is a 2000 graduate of Wake Forest University (WFU), where she co-founded Homerun, a service organization still active at WFU. Through her experience with Homerun, in addition to a service trip to Calcutta, India, Borchert became interested in a leadership role with a nonprofit organization, which led her to DC Central Kitchen.
Borchert joined DC Central Kitchen, CKP’s parent organization, in June of 2000. There she worked for one year in program development and fund-raising. She moved to St. Louis in 2001 to work with the pilot program of The Campus Kitchens Project on the St. Louis University campus, and now resides in Washington, DC.
