The Campus Kitchen at Virginia Tech

In 2015, the Campus Kitchen at Virginia Tech (or CKVT) was established in Blacksburg, Virginia to address the issue of food accessibility throughout the community. The organization works with Virginia Tech dining services and takes the food that would have been wasted to disperse it back into the community. They also work with other organizations within the community. Groups like the New River Valley Glean Team (or NRV Glean Team) have helped CKVT collect excess produce, which can be diverted. You can find CKVT located in Wallace Hall on Virginia Tech’s campus, which is open to the public.

INTRODUCTION

 The Campus Kitchen at Virginia Tech was founded in Blacksburg, in the fall of 2015, and it works to decrease food waste and increase food access. Currently, the organization is housed in Wallace Hall, in room 405. The Campus Kitchen at Virginia Tech was founded as a partnership between VT Engage and Virginia Tech Dining Services. VT Engage is a campus group that works to facilitate civic engagement experiences that advance community priorities. Together, CKVT, VT Engage, and Virginia Tech Dining Services have redirected over 263,00 pounds of unserved food from dining halls to the community.

ORIGINS

Although CKVT is a partnership with VT Engage and Virginia Tech Dining Services, it started because it was an outpost of the D.C. Central Kitchen, in Washington, D.C. It was founded by Robert Egger in 1989 because he wanted to aim to liberate people from poverty, after being frustrated by his volunteer experiences with traditional charitable responses. Much like CKVT, the D.C. Central Kitchen fights against hunger, but they also focus on lowering poverty numbers through job training and creation. In 2001, Egger wanted to spread his fight against hunger, so he started the Campus Kitchens Project, which got college students involved with recovering food and creating meals for the community. The creation of this project is what allowed Virginia Tech to start their own campus kitchen. At the time of Virginia Tech starting their campus kitchen, there were already over 50 across the country.

PURPOSE

The Campus Kitchen at Virginia Tech works to address the issue that one in eight Virginians struggle with food security, with an increase in food access needed in the Blue Ridge region. 1-in-12 people experience hunger, which is not much lower than the percentage of U.S. homes with food insecurity, at 10.2 percent. Because there is this possibility of hunger throughout the Blue Ridge region, other organizations like the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank have had to help about 109,500 people a month. In total, they collected a staggering 25 million pounds of food from July 2021 to June 2022.

REGIONAL ISSUES

The Appalachian area is recovering from economic disruptions, which can be defined as “a situation wherein markets cease to function in a regular manner.”[1] An example of an economic disruption is COVID-19. Due to these disruptions, there has been an increase in supply chain shortages and inflation. In 2022, inflation reached a 40-year high. Since these increases are happening, people now must be more careful in what they choose to buy because sometimes other things may take priority over buying food.

WORK AND EVENTS

CKVT holds events and partners with other organizations to achieve its goal of increasing food accessibility. Currently, Virginia Tech’s campus kitchen works with Squires, Owens, and Dietrick dining halls. From these dining halls, the campus kitchen receives the unserved food to distribute it back into the community. In the earlier days of the organization, students were allowed to cook more food in the dining halls to be distributed, but that is no longer an option. As well as partnerships on campus, they also work with community organizations such as community fridges, the Market of Virginia Tech, and the New River Valley Glean Team. The NRV Glean Team takes excess produce and diverts it into the community. With the multiple ways that CKVT diverts food, they need a way to inform people about their resources. They do this by having movie nights and information sessions that teach people how to not waste food and get involved in food recovery efforts. Even though CKVT already does a lot, they are far from finished.

FUTURE

Although CKVT is no longer a branch of the Campus Kitchens Project, they still strive to increase food accessibility. In 2019, the Campus Kitchens Project rebranded as the Food Recovery Network. After the rebrand, Virginia Tech decided to take their own path. Despite this change, CKVT wants to continue to improve. They have recently added community fridges into their program, which are open to the community for good, quality food. The Campus Kitchen at Virginia Tech also wants to restart some partnerships from the past, including dining halls and the local YMCA, which was used as a distribution center. With a great objective and a desire to improve, CKVT is an organization that the community loves.

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