Rose, Ed, Reggie and Zayda shred carrots

Here at the CKP National Office, we’ve been talking a lot about how Campus Kitchens are more than charity: they’re means of building strong, vibrant communities. Up the road at the Campus Kitchen at Gettysburg College, they’re showing us what building communities really means through their connection with Circles of Support.

Circles of Support engages community partners like CKGC in the process of moving low-income families out of poverty. Just as families involved in the program are moving toward financial stability, CKGC has been stabilizing it’s operations.

“As CKGC and Circles of Support grew over the last year, a natural bond has been formed. As Circle Leaders experienced continued success with their financial wellbeing this has triggered more interest in other things that were apt be put on the back burner when they were not as financially stable, such as nutrition and exercise. Likewise, CKGC has solidified operations over the last year and is as interested in food access and nutrition issues for low income people as in putting meals on the table,” says Christine.

The two groups celebrated their successes and deepened their connection during a trip to Washington, DC this past weekend to belatedly celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.

They started off at the Lincoln Memorial, where they read MLK’s “I have a dream” speech and talked about what his words mean today. Then they put words into action: they headed to DC Central Kitchen, CKP’s parent organization, for a volunteer shift.

Nathan, Isaiah and Marquise prepare chicken

“All of our CKGC volunteers who were in attendance and had volunteered at DCCK before were proud to be able to share this experience with everyone from Circles and be able to connect the reason that we volunteer back to Dr. King’s life work,” said Christine.

The chefs at DCCK are all graduates of the Culinary Job Training program and like the Circles of Support volunteers, have lifted themselves out of poverty. Their example provided even more inspiration for the volunteers. “They are living proof that with enough determination, anything is possible,” says Christine.

Connections were everywhere: between MLK’s words and CKGC’s work, between the Circles of Support group and the DCCK chefs, between the CKGC volunteers and their Circles of Support partners, and even between the work they did today and a national movement for change:

“Visiting DCCK not only gave everyone time to get to know each other even better while we grated a mountain of carrots and seasoned BBQ chicken, but also showed how CKGC is part of a larger movement that is using food as a tool to end poverty,” says Christine.

And with CKGC’s plans to pilot a six-week Healthy Cooking on a Budget and Exercise program with Circles of Support, the connections will only deepen and the Gettysburg community will only grow stronger as the Semester of Service rolls on.

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