ECU Campus Kitchen joins nationwide ‘Turkeypalooza’

ECU Campus Kitchen volunteers Serdaria McKinnon-Smith, Shoneice Sconyers and Katie Crifasi, from left, check the temperature on hamburgers to be served at the Ronald McDonald House during a 2011 food preparation event. (Photo by Cliff Hollis)

East Carolina University student volunteers are joining in a nationwide effort to feed the hungry through the ECU Campus Kitchen’s participation in Turkeypalooza 2013.

ECU students are joining their counterparts across the country in collecting food items to be used in prepared meals and/or food supplies delivered to community partners for holiday meal distribution.

At the Campus Kitchen at ECU, Turkeypalooza activities will include a holiday dinner at the JOY Soup Kitchen Nov. 21 and delivery of holiday meals to 22 families from Operation Sunshine Nov. 25. The 22 families were sponsored by ECU departments and student organizations.

Last year, Campus Kitchens participating in Turkeypalooza served nearly 5,000 extra meals in addition to the 21,000 meals they serve on average each month. During the last academic year, ECU’s Campus Kitchen transformed 1,226 pounds of food into 1,614 healthy meals serving residents of Greenville, NC who are struggling with food insecurity.

Founded in 2001, the Campus Kitchens Project is a national organization that empowers student volunteers to fight hunger in their community. On 33 university and high school campuses across the country, students transform unused food from dining halls, grocery stores, restaurants, and farmers’ markets into meals that are delivered to local agencies serving those in need.

By taking the initiative to run a community kitchen, students develop entrepreneurial and leadership skills, along with a commitment to serve their community, that they will carry with them into future careers. Each Campus Kitchen goes beyond meals by using food as a tool to promote poverty solutions, implement garden initiatives, participate in nutrition education, and convene food policy events.

More details about the national organization is available at www.campuskitchens.org.

To help the ECU Campus Kitchen meet their food donation goal, contact Teresa Dantzler, Campus Kitchen graduate assistant, at 252-737-1670 or email campuskitchens@ecu.edu.