professor and chair of political science, 308.865.8039
There will be fewer hungry children, women and men in the Kearney area this fall as the result of a new project headed by students at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
The Campus Kitchen Project, a leadership development and hunger relief organization, will use surplus food from Chartwells Dining Services on the UNK campus to supply meals twice a week for those in need. Students are working with Mid-Nebraska Community Services and Development Services of Nebraska to identify low income families and elderly.
UNK will be the first Campus Kitchen Project in Nebraska and the first such student-run organization in the nation. Co-directing the UNK program will be Marty Demoret, a senior from Scottsbluff who is studying psychology and political science, and Megan Boss, a graduate student from Bellwood who is pursuing a degree in community counseling.
The official public Kick Off Celebration for the project is set for 4 p.m. Thursday,Aug. 31, in the Nebraskan Student Union Atrium. The event will be webcast live. For webcast information please visit the UNK Online Webcast page.
Opening the event will be Dr. Peter Longo, UNK political science department chair. Guest speakers include Demoret, UNK Chancellor Doug Kristensen, University of Nebraska President J.B. Milliken and Campus Kitchen Project Director Karen Borchert of Washington, D.C.
“The Campus Kitchen at the University of Nebraska at Kearney is a great example of students making positive contributions on their campuses and in their communities,” Borchert said. “These students are working toward creative solutions to rural hunger, and we are excited to add them to our network. Our reception at UNK has been outstanding, and we look forward to continued expansion in Nebraska.”
The public Campus Kitchen Kick Off Celebration will include a culinary demonstration, informational presentation on Campus Kitchen operations and reactions from the student organizational team in addition to remarks by Dr. Longo, Chancellor Kristensen, President Milliken and Borchert.
UNK will join 10 other schools that are part of Washington-based Campus Kitchen Project, a national network of community-based kitchens located on college and high school campuses. Since its inception in October of 2001, the Campus Kitchen Project has recovered 420,000 pounds of food, served more than 400,000 meals, engaged volunteers in more than 58,000 service hours, and graduated 67 adults from the program’s Culinary Job Training program.
