Campus Kitchen at Gonzaga University

Community Garden!

xciting new project for Campus Kitchens at Gonzaga is the Community Garden located behind CCASL II, the building where our CKGU office is. We are still in early stages, but soon we hope the garden will provide food to be used in preparing meals and other community service groups can use the garden for educational and food-related activities.

Here is a time-elapse video of the Sunday afternoon where we all helped build the beds:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=10150105917099167

Some pictures from the construction:

The work crew was treated to an incredible sunset!

The finished product! (For now…)

A fence is on the way and we hope to get some garlic in the beds before winter hits. Stay tuned!

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A “Fowl” Summer

I need only one word to describe CKGU this summer: Turkey. As our avid, yet timid, readers (I’d like to see more posts…) may recall, last winter’s TurkeyPalooza was the largest yet. As a result from that prodigious turkey drive, turkey has a monopoly in protein, being our sole protein source. For the first two months, we managed to mix up the recipes and get creative. We’ve made turkey casseroles, turkey pasta salad, turkey sloppy joes (which we called fowl freddies), and even turkey salad sandwiches.

So Fowl it's Fresh

Unfortunately, we are running out of ideas about how to cook and present our turkeys. Last week, we made tomato-bread soup with turkey!!! We are desperate for new recipes. Please help us!!

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“I’m on a Stove”

Yup, it’s the Campus Kitchens interns at GU hard at work, makin a rap video for the program. Big thanks to dregdata for the base mix and for the “gangstas” of the Gonzaga service world (also known as CCASL) Peace, love, and stoves y’all!

I’m On A Stove

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Backyard Gleaning at CKGU

Give us your fruit!

As a food recycling organization, food donations are integral to our operations.  This summer CKGU is looking for these donations in your backyard!  Our summer gleaning program connects fresh produce that would be wasted to people in-need in the Spokane community.

We are looking for fruit trees and gardens that produce more produce than you can use.  Volunteers will come to youir house and pick the items.  In turn, donors will recieve a tax reciept and the knowledge that they have helped to fight hunger in their community.

If you are interested in donationg yout tree or garden or volunteering, please contact CKGU at epaulson@campuskitchens.org or 509-313-6939.

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Keeping up with CKGU!

The Campus Kitchen at Gonzaga University is looking forward to another busy year!  The current economic climate has pushed many people who had been getting by, living paycheck to paycheck, into needing assistance.  This gap is one that CKGU is hoping to bridge for individuals and families in the Spokane area.  We cannot do this without your help!  Please contact Emily at 509-313-6939 or ckgu@campuskitchens.org to make a donation or for volunteer opportunities.

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The Biggest TurkeyPalooza Yet!

CKGU celebrated it’s biggest Turkeypalooza to date in 2008!  Volunteers from Gonzaga and the Spokane community prepared and delivered 716 meals and groceries to 34 families.  The final donated turkey count was 140!  CKGU would like to thank all of our wonderful volunteers and people that donated groceries and or time.  A very special thanks goes out to Charles Wesley, Mike Lopez, and all of the Sodexo staff at Gonzaga that made this event possible!

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The Campus Kitchen Community Dinner

A very young Campus Kitchen volunteer spending some quality time with a 2nd Avenue diner.

Beginning in October of 2008, CKGU took over as lead the organization for SNAP (Spokane Neighborhood Action Program) Sack Dinner.  The meal has been renamed the Campus Kitchen Community Dinner and takes place every Thursday from 5-6 p.m at the First Covenant Church in downtown Spokane.  The dinner is invaluable to some of Spokane’s most vulnerable residents, providing outreach services from the CHAS Clinic, Spokane Mental Health, and SNAP.  Clients are assissted with housing referrals, bus passes, and food stamp applications.

“One of my goals in maintaining the Campus Kitchen Community Dinner is to provide a sense of community in Spokane.  Gonzaga students come to the dinner to volunteer and are encouraged to sit and eat with people.  This interaction is so meaningful to the guests of the meal and it gives students an opportunity to have conversations with someone who has had very different life experiences.”-Emily Paulson, Coordinator, CKGU

For more information regarding volunteering at the Campus Kitchen Community Dinner contact Emily at 509-313-6939 or ckgu@campuskitchens.org

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Improve your Culinary Skills and Provide Hunger Relief

What is the best way to cook 10 turkeys? How do you mash 50 pounds of potatoes? All these questions and more will be answered during Turkeypalooza 2007, the annual Thanksgiving event of the Campus Kitchen at Gonzaga University.

The Campus Kitchen at Gonzaga University, a local hunger relief organization, plans to prepare and deliver 500 Thanksgiving dinners to low-income Spokane residents. Volunteers are needed to achieve this goal. Community members may cook meals or deliver meals.

Monetary donations may also be made online. PayPal is the payment method of the Web site. Donors are able to specify if their money will go to the national fund or one of the Campus Kitchens at a university.

A $10 donation provides a homebound senior with a complete meal. A $50 donation provides a family of four with a complete meal, even during Thanksgiving.

The Campus Kitchen Project is a national, student-powered hunger relief program. The organization’s mission is to provide nutritious meals to disadvantaged families, individuals, and homebound seniors in the community.

Since 2001, The Campus Kitchens Project has served more than 519,000 meals. Volunteers have logged more than 135,000 hours doing so.

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