Office of Civic and Community Engagement

TurkeyPalooza

Help Campus Kitchen prepare full Thanksgiving meals for its community partners and Samaritan Ministries.

As one of the most anticipated events of the year, TurkeyPalooza relies on the support of the entire Wake Forest community to make it a success. Departments and Organizations can donate specific fresh food items, or make a monetary donation.

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 | 2017-18

382 unique volunteers contributed over 2,750 hours of direct service

One of every 11 Wake Forest undergraduate students volunteered with Campus Kitchen

11,081 meals were delivered and over 10 tons of fresh produce were repurposed to our partners

44 student leaders led over 500 individual volunteer shifts throughout the year

12 educational programs were hosted in our kitchen, where it also served as the lab location for “Kitchen Chemistry” a course offered by the Department of Chemistry.

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 2018

The 14th year of Turkeypalooza was the biggest yet! During this annual tradition, Campus Kitchen prepares scratch made turkey dinners for our community partners in celebration of the Thanksgiving holiday. This past year, CKWFU used both local turkeys and sweet potatoes as well as fresh produce to craft a seasonal menu that featured a roasted fall vegetable stuffing, sweet potato casserole, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin cookies.

In 2018 nearly 100 student, faculty, and staff volunteers participated. This included over 24 hours of cooking shifts and daily deliveries to cook and serve 400 meals across Winston-Salem. This year, Turkeypalooza donated 100 meals to Samaritan Ministries and 30 meals to Veterans Helping Veterans. Turkeypalooza relies on generous donations from the Wake Forest campus community. CKWFU is grateful to all who gave to make this wonderful event possible.
2018 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.