Campus Kitchen - Office of Civic and Community Engagement

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The Campus Kitchen at Wake Forest University (CKWFU) functions to repurpose food in the Winston-Salem community that would otherwise have gone to waste. It functions as an asset-based approach to strengthening the Winston-Salem community by partnering with a network of civic, non-profit, and private organizations to develop innovative solutions to reduce food insecurity.

Relying on donations from Aramark at Wake Forest, The Fresh Market, Lowes Foods, and local farmers markets; student leaders pick-up, prepare, and deliver fresh produce and nutritious meals every day of the week.

The Campus Kitchen at Wake Forest typically has over 22 weekly shifts, and is always looking for volunteers. Due to the ongoing global pandemic, volunteer shifts are limited. Student interested in getting involved with Campus Kitchen, now or moving forward, can contact student directors Natalie Graham and/or Michelle Larzan.

Become A Volunteer

Get Involved! Help us, recover and redistribute unused food, prepare food, or deliver meals.

Become a CK Volunteer

Campus Kitchen Leader_Placeholder

Become a CK Leader

Interested in becoming a CKWFU Leader? Let Brad Shugoll know why you’d be the perfect fit.

Lead The Way

Kids Cooking Coalition

Interested in teaching children healthy eating habits and cooking skills? KCC is the place for you!

Get Involved with KCC

More Than A Meal

Beyond the meal and produce delivery, CKWFU organizes and participates in educational and empowering programming . These events bring students together to discuss and reflect on food access and food justice both locally and globally. Signature events include Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, an annual documentary screening and the Food for Thought series, which invites campus partners to cook a meal in the kitchen and share more about the recipes origins and cultural significance.

A Year in The Campus Kitchen | 2019-20

Student volunteers contributed 3,208 hours of direct service.
4,384 meals were delivered to our community partners, averaging 706 meals served each month.
1,352 individual community members were provided Campus Kitchen meals throughout the year.
Over 18 tons of fresh produce were recovered from local grocery stores and repurposed to use in meals for community partners.
Through a unique partnership with Harvest Table Culinary Group, over four tons of prepared food was recovered from campus dining and repurposed for community meals.
Campus Kitchen’s Summer Feeding program served 5,218 meals over 38 days to students enrolled in the WFU Freedom School and We Rock Summer Camp, preparing an average 137 meals per day.

CKWFU Community Partners

Turkeypalooza Photo Gallery

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Kitchen Updates| Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week

In support of national Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, Campus Kitchen hosted a series of events to provide students, faculty, and staff an opportunity to engage in action and reflection around the complexity of hunger and homelessness in our community. This year’s schedule was highlighted by Turkeypalooza, the 2018 keynote speaker and the non-perishable food drive.

Turkeypalooza 2019

Each November Campus Kitchen celebrates TurkeyPalooza by preparing scratch-made turkey dinners for its community partners in celebration of the Thanksgiving Holiday. In its 15th year, TurkeyPalooza celebrated it’s biggest accomplishment to date, delivering over 500 meals throughout Winston-Salem. With the help of 88 Campus Kitchen volunteers and over 24 hours of cooking shifts, Wake Forest students made 364 meals that were delivered to various community partners throughout the Triad.

This year, Harvest Table Culinary Group, the University’s on-campus food service provider, prepared an additional 200 meals for both Samaritan Ministries and the Aster Park Community, that were delivered in partnership with Campus Kitchen volunteers.
2019 CKWFU Keynote

On Thursday November 15th, Dr. Alice Ammerman director of the Center for Health Promotion and Disease Promotion at UNC-Chapel Hill delivered the 2018 Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week Keynote Address.

She discussed her work evaluating nutrition in the context of social determinants of health such as economic stability, education and place of residence. She also spoke about her Good Bowls project that “aims to provide better access to nutritionally valuable food for lower-income consumers.” She reminded attendees that creating healthy communities goes beyond education and requires creating structures for access as well.

During her visit, Dr. Ammerman also visited with student leaders from Campus Kitchen and shared dinner with a group of students and staff.
Non-Perishable Food Drive

Across campus, multiple groups and departments participated in a food drive to support Campus Kitchen’s seasonal grocery bags. This year, 1,227 pounds of non-perishable food was collected, which allowed CKWFU to deliver over 60 grocery bags to its community partners during the winter break.

The drive was highlighted by a competition between the School of Business and School of Law, with the Business School donating a record 871 cans. Special thanks to the Communications Department and the Food Lion Feeds initiative as well for their significant contributions.