The Campus Kitchen Project (CKP) is a groundbreaking initiative that brings colleges and universities together with student volunteers, on campus dining service professionals, and community organizations to combat hunger in cities across the United States.
The best part about CKP is that all of this amazing work is led by college students, our next generation of leaders, business people, public servants, educators and non-profit professionals. Our student volunteers ARE the Campus Kitchen Project, and their work is what makes CKP tick. You'll see evidence of that throughout their work. Everything from food recycling to job training to special initiatives for clients, has the fingerprints of college students all over it.
At Minnesota State University, Mankato, the program works as a partnership among University Dining Services, the Student Activities office, and a combination of community and university entities, including student-run service organizations, university service learning programs, and community agencies. Each individual program is administered by a Campus Kitchen Coordinator, who oversees the establishment, operations, and growth of Campus Kitchen. The Campus Kitchen Coordinator is a full time, salaried position through MSU. The Campus Kitchens Project's national headquarters in Washington, DC provides ongoing consulting services to each Campus Kitchen.
The operation of the Campus Kitchen are carried out by the Campus Kitchen Coordinator, a salaried, full-time employee of The Campus Kitchens Project devoted to the operations of the local Campus Kitchens, and students, faculty, and staff volunteers. Dining Services staff on each campus or in the surrounding area often provides support for some aspects of the program, such as sanitation training skills.
Before the Campus kitchen officially exists at a campus, the university, University Dinning Services and The Campus Kitchens Project, Inc. must sign a mutual agreement. A Master Agreement that acts as a template for negotiation among all involved parties is made available for review as part of the implementation process.
