The Alliance to End Hunger sent along another internship posting, perfect for student volunteers with the Campus Kitchens Project. Take a look!

Bread for the World Institute is actively recruiting for the following position, Hunger Report Project Assistant/Intern. If you are interested in applying or know of someone who may be interested, please submit your cover letter and resume to Human Resources or human.resources@bread.org. Please visit www.bread.org for a full listing of available positions.

Hunger Report Project Assistant/Intern
Bread for the World Institute, a non-profit research and education organization on hunger and poverty issues, seeks a project assistant to work directly with the editor of the Hunger Report to facilitate the report production process. Primary responsibilities include extensive researching, analyzing and compiling data for the Hunger Report and other Institute projects. Must have a bachelor’s degree; solid research skills and be detail-oriented; strong English-language writing skills, computer skills (proficiency with Microsoft Excel is a plus) with knowledge of graphic software (e.g. Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator); and be flexible, organized and able to meet deadlines. The ideal candidate will have hands-on experience conducting research on both international and domestic hunger, poverty, and socio-economic development issues. The project assistant works in a deadline-driven environment that is sometimes stressful and demanding. This is a one-year internship with an annual stipend, health benefits, as well as vacation, and sick leave. Must be available to start June 2010.
Deadline to apply: Wednesday, March 31, 2010.
Bread is an EOE.

Latonya Carter
Human Resources Generalist

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With the first signs of Spring, students from the Campus Kitchen at Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn. celebrated by teaming up with Anthropology and Sociology majors, as well as the Lee University soccer team to host a community block party for residents they rarely get to connect with while living on campus.

Using funds from their MLK Semester of Service Grant, the kitchen put to action their Mega Meals program, inviting families living near Green Drive to a day filled with games, soccer, bubble-blowing, face-painting, and nutritious food.

The Sociology and Anthropology students visited homes and interviewed parents and families prior to the block party to determine what activities to put on for the community. After their home visits, many of the students were inspired to continue helping the Green Drive community beyond their school requirements.

Other students helped local children explore their creative abilities through chalking the sidewalk and face painting. The young and old alike jumped into the soccer tournament hosted by Lee’s team, and the Campus Kitchen anchored the day’s activity with a hearty meal of lasagna – 64 servings in total.

The Campus Kitchen at Lee University plans to continue its Mega Meals program, serving the community at Green Drive using the diverse skills of students.

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The Campus Kitchen at Gettysburg College recently jump-started two innovative programs for a community partner with funding from its MLK Semester of Service grant. Below, coordinator Megan Crowe tells how they did it…

The first Virtually Delicious lesson with local youth from The Center/El Centro, an after school program for children in first through eighth grades, took place at the end of February. The program brought together 11 middle-school students and eight student volunteers from Gettysburg College.  Most of the Gettysburg College volunteers were health science majors and used the opportunity to explain nutrition in detail with the middle school students.

The children began their day of combined nutrition and computer education by learning how to best navigate the Internet.  Among the things they learned:  searches need to be as specific as possible in order to yield the results you are looking for.  They took the lesson one step further and embarked on an online scavenger hunt, looking for things like the amount of calories in a slice of cheese pizza and the serving size for one serving of pasta.

After they completed all tasks, the middle school students navigated the MyPyramid for Kids website.  Each student received a blank MyPyramid to color according to the images they found on Google images.  Next, they utilized the “MyPyramid Plan” feature on the website to determine the amounts of each food group they needed.  Each student input his/her age, sex, height, and weight.  Based on the data, the program calculated a personalized pyramid.  The students filled in the pyramids with the recommendations specific to them.

After this activity the kids played the “MyPyramid Blast Off” game.  The game consists of adding food as fuel to a rocket ship until it has enough fuel from each food group.  Once this is achieved, the rocket blasts off to indicate successful completion!

The Virtually Delicious Program is part of continuing community partnership with The Center/El Centro and the Campus Kitchen at Gettysburg College, as well as a piece of CKGC’s MLK Semester of Service. Below, Megan describes a service day completed in lead-up to the Virtually Delicious kick-off.

Students from The Center/El Centro and Gettysburg College assembled on Friday, February 19 to complete a Day of Service at Everblossom Farm. They dug right in, working to maintain the crops in the greenhouse and preparing the ground for additional growing.  It was awesome to see just how many plants were growing in the greenhouse in the winter.  The kids were able to identify and taste several vegetables, including: spinach, peas, spring mix greens, and kale.  Everyone was very surprised at how warm it was in the greenhouse.  Even though it was in the 30s outside, with about a foot of snow on the ground, it was at least 80 degrees inside the greenhouse and everyone kept taking off more clothing as they did more work.

After a successful service project it was time to go home.  The kids were amazed by the cows and we spent the end of our time at the farm watching them and trying to get them to come near us.

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Attention green thumbs and community garden aficionados: two paid (stipend) internship positions at The Washington Youth Garden in Washington, D.C. just sprouted up, and they’re the perfect scent to follow for Campus Kitchen volunteers.

The Washington Youth Garden, based out of the U.S. National Arboretum, uses the garden cycle as a tool to inspire children and families to engage in self-discovery, explore relationships with food and the natural world, and contribute to the health and well-being of their communities.

The garden is a full-functioning, one acre, organic lot with a production area, herb garden, fruit section, butterfly garden, and themed educational gardens. The program consists of year-round gardening and nutrition education through school-based and outdoor garden programs.

Teach, Reach, Feed, Lead, and Garden this summer

Responsibilities of the Education Intern include assisting with the development and facilitation of gardening activities, nutrition education activities for the Growing Food…Growing Together and Seed to Supper programs, and some assistance with the maintenance of the garden.

A Garden Intern will spend the two months (both internships run mid-June to mid-August with flexible start and end dates) learning general organic gardening techniques while assisting the Garden Coordinator with operation and maintenance of the garden. That means: seeding, planting, weeding, mulching beds and paths, pruning, harvesting, watering, fertilizing, etc… The Garden Intern will also help develop garden specific instruction.

What do you need to apply? A degree, or comparable experience in Horticulture, Plant Science, Environmental Studies, Biology, or a related field and interest or experience in gardening and food (Campus Kitchen volunteers  should have that one down!) The stipend is $2500 for 35 hours per week.

For more information, visit The Washington Youth Garden website.

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Another method of processing and preserving fresh summer produce for those long winter months!

Freezing is perhaps the best and easiest method of food preservation because it keeps the flavor and texture of foods better than any other.

When frozen foods fall victim to freezer burn, however, it just causes more waste. The best way to prevent burn is to remove as much air as possible by using vacuum sealers!

Check with your school’s dining services to see if they have a vacuum sealer that you can access. If not, they can be purchased for your Campus Kitchen at a reasonable price. I suggest the FoodSaver brand, which can be found here. You can use a vacuum sealer to freeze anything from fruits and vegetables to meats and prepared foods!

Below are step-by-step directions for freezing sweet potatoes (these are general directions that can be used as a guideline for whatever you are freezing):

1. Cook sweet potatoes in boiling water until they are mildly soft, about 15-20 min.

2. Let them cool and then peel and prepare them to your liking (mash, diced, sliced, halves)

3. To prevent darkening, mix with a little lemon juice. For mash – mix with 2 tbsp lemon juice/quart. For halved or sliced, dip in a mixture of 1/2 cup lemon juice diluted in 1 quart of water.

4. Pack into plastic, vacuum seal-able bags, seal, and freeze

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Jessica Zha, the current AmeriCorps Vista and Coordinator for the Campus Kitchen at Johns Hopkins University, will leave her position in July 2010 to pursue medical school. The school just listed the AmeriCorps position on idealist.org. Below, she describes her top five reasons why she loves her job. Also below: the job listing – or check out the full description on idealist.org.

#5: I get to work with food ALL THE TIME… and yes that does mean I sometimes get to sample the merchandise.

#4: I get to SAVE tons of food from being wasted.

#3: I work in an amazing office at the JHU Center for Social Concern, which is the hub for all community engagement activities at Hopkins, and which is staffed by awesome folks that enthusiastically support our cause.

#2: I have the privilege of working with an amazing team of students who DONATE their time and energy toward fighting poverty in our community.

#1: I know that my efforts are helping to make a difference BOTH by our immediate efforts AS WELL AS by the legacy that we’re building which will carry over to future Hopkins generation

Jessica Zha (Pictured in the middle sorting boxes) at work in the Campus Kitchen

Description:

The Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Social Concern (CSC) seeks an AmeriCorps*VISTA member to serve as a primary coordinator for its Campus Kitchen chapter. The Campus Kitchens Project (www.campuskitchens.org) is a national student-driven food recover organization dedicated to connecting community agencies with surplus food collected for college campuses, private business owners, gardens and farms. The food is prepared by students to make for nutritious meals to be delivered to schools, shelters, churches, and other community organizations in need.

Additional Qualifications:

The AmeriCorps*VISTA will work with the Campus Kitchen at JHU’s student leadership team to:
-Manage pick-up, cooking, and delivery shifts.
-Work with the leaership team to outreach t new donors and new food recipients.
-Convene an advisory board on a quarterly basis.
-Recruit new student volunteers.
-Advise two work-study students on managing cooking shifts and grant writing.
-Work with the student groups who manage a garden plot and do gleaning trips.
-Assist in fundraising.
-Keep track of kitchen inventories.
-Be a resource to other Maryland campuses who may want to start a Campus Kitchen.
-Participate in two campus days of service.
-Be able to work occasional evenings.

How to Apply:

For more information about AmeriCorps*VISTA, please visit www.americorps.gov. For more information about the Campus Kitchen at JHU, visit www.campuskitchens.org/schools/jhu. For more information about the CSC, visit www.jhu.edu/csc.

To apply, please send a resume and cover letter to William Tiefenwerth, CSC Director at btief@jhu.edu.

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Last week, Campus Kitchen Staff hit the road to check in with the Campus Kitchen at Wake Forest University, scout out potential Campus Kitchen locations in North Carolina, and open the Campus Kitchen at East Carolina University.

During the three days spent at East Carolina University, coordinator Kim Caudle and her leadership team executed a kickoff event, and test-run cook and delivery shifts. Through it all, they let us follow them with our camera. Here’s a quick glimpse into the kitchen tour Kim led and the cooking/delivery shifts to follow.

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Over half of schools that partner with The Campus Kitchens Project – to bring student-led hunger relief to their adopted communities – received the distinction of the 2009 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, released at the end of February. Of CKP’s 26 partner campuses, 15 made a higher education community service distinction as well as four developing Campus Kitchen sites.

In 2009, 3.16 million college students performed more than 300 million hours of service.

From those numbers, six colleges and universities have been named as Presidential Awardees in the 2009 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for commitment to volunteering, service-learning, and civic engagement.

One Campus Kitchen site, Lee University in Cleveland, TN, was named among the six Presidential Awardees. Lee students completed more than 60,000 hours of volunteer service last year in projects aimed at poverty relief, food collection and distribution, and helping students with autism and other developmental disabilities. More than 80 percent of Lee’s students are involved in volunteering and service-learning.

“CKP is a huge support of our [Lee University's] benevolence arm. Thanks for all your work toward establishing CKLee,” said William B. Lamb, Director of Field Experiences for the Leonard Center at Lee University.

Two additional Honor Roll lists included colleges and universities that also house or are developing a Campus Kitchen as part of their community service portfolio.

The Honor Roll with Distinction includes:
Augsburg College
Saint Louis University
Union College
College of William and Mary
University of Wisconsin Eau Claire
Tulane University*
College of the Holy Cross*
Elon University*

The Honor Roll includes:
University of Florida
University of Massachusetts Boston
Washington University in St. Louis
East Carolina University
Wake Forest University
University of Vermont
University of Virginia
Gonzaga University
Marquette University
University of Detroit Mercy*

*Universities that are currently working with CKP to develop Campus Kitchens.

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CKUVM Students Pose at a Mardi Gras Celebration

One Campus Kitchen will get more than salad dressing from Newman’s Own this March: The Newman’s Own Foundation is granting 5 to 25 thousand for one standout, do-good organization per campus in the America East Conference.

The Foundation partnered with the America East Conference to choose one leading, service-focused student group – that is closely affiliated with a non-profit – at each member university. Other nominees include University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s Project Health, which connects low-income patients and their families with resources they need to be healthy and University of Albany’s Students of Albany Against Cancer, which raises awareness for early cancer prevention and detection.

Participants from the nine schools in the conference will be evaluated on the level of the group’s involvement with an affiliated non-profit as well as the degree it reflects Paul Newman’s spirit of creativity and commitment. Judges will also consider mission and programs, and the impact the grant money will have on the populations served.

The Campus Kitchen at the University of Vermont was nominated in connection with the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf and the grant would help fund gleaning and nutrition programs.

One student group will receive a grant of $25,000, $15,000, and $10,000, and six will get $5000. The Campus Kitchen is among the three finalists to receive between 10 and 25 thousand. Grant recipients will be profiled throughout America East’s men’s and women’s basketball championships at the University of Hartford, March 4-7.

The Campus Kitchen at University of Vermont’s volunteers are keeping their spoons crossed to win the grand prize of $25,000 in an awards ceremony March 7!

CKUVM on the Local News

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Jillian Falchi is the new coordinator at the Campus Kitchen at Union College. Below she gives some insight into just how she opened her Campus Kitchen.

How long had you been working on CKUC prior to the opening?

I heard about CKP in April of last year, started working with UC Dining Services after discussing the program with Dan Detora, the director of Dining Services. The application process took a decent amount of time but we got started right away at the beginning of this school year. Our first day was January 31, so start to finish I guess about 6 months.

What did you serve for your first meal, and how did it go?

The first day of our Campus Kitchen brought together all kinds of volunteers to College Park Hall’s beautiful kitchen facility. We made 150 meals consisting of meatballs, baked ziti, salad, and cookies with very few hang ups and a little bit of chaos. It was a challenging yet rewarding experience that I hope to perfect every Saturday over the next several months.

What was the hardest part of getting the Campus Kitchen open?

I personally thought the entire application process was the hardest part. There were a lot of different departments to contact and people to recruit in order to get this project off the ground. It took a little time but everyone was super supportive of bring a Campus Kitchen to Union.

How did you go about securing kitchen space?

Dan Detora (UC Director of Dining Services) was the first person I contacted about this project. Kitchen space was never an issue because we knew the facility in college park would be available. As far as scheduling, Saturday mornings are the best time for me and Shaun (our kitchen manager).

What are you most excited about with your Campus Kitchen?

The amount of positive feedback we have received for our kitchen has been so rewarding. When we started working with City Mission [a community partner] it was so easy to talk to their director (Mike Saccotio) about the program and potential ideas for the future. After our opening, I received a message from Chris Silipino of City Mission telling us how much they appreciated our help and enforced how important it is for the Union community to be active in Schenectady.

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