Who Are We?
The Campus Kitchen at UGA is the student-powered hunger relief program of the UGA Office of Service-Learning. We exist to spotlight sustainable solutions to hunger and food waste and to showcase a mutually beneficial university-community partnership.
Campus Kitchen runs a weekly food recovery and redistribution enterprise led by UGA student volunteers. Student leaders and volunteers together transform unused food from grocery stores and farms into meals and groceries that are delivered to older adults and human service agencies in Athens, Georgia.
The Campus Kitchen at UGA goes beyond providing just meal service by using food as a tool to combat senior isolation, foster community connections, and engage UGA students and faculty in developing sustainable solutions to food waste and hunger.
Our work results in:
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Students being equipped, connected and inspired to be change-makers through hands-on learning to become the sustainable solution to food waste and hunger.
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Clients receive nourishment and fellowship through the revealed power of redeemed food.
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Our community growing in our understanding of the systemic challenges facing older adults and our food system, resulting in the continued advancement towards collaborative solutions.
Timeline:
2010: the Office of Service-Learning identified interest among the UGA community to engage with food systems through experiential learning. At the same time, students and faculty in the Geography Department and Women's Studies Institute identified food security needs for clients of the Athens Community Council on Aging.
In 2012, the program became formally affiliated with the Campus Kitchens Project, the national collections of Campus Kitchens on 70+ university campuses across the country. UGA was the 33rd Campus Kitchen to open, and the 1st in Georgia.
In 2013-2014 CKUGA wins the Most Innovative Program Award as well as the
2014-2015 CKUGA wins Pillar of the Community Award at The H. Gordon and Francis S. Davis SOAR Awards.
In 2019 CKUGA separated form The Campus Kitchens Project in Washington DC and became its own separate organization, Campus Kitchen at the University of Georgia.
Today
Today, the CKUGA UGA serves over 1000 meals each month to older adults, their families, and aging service providers.
CKUGA partners with the Athens Community Council on Aging, UGArden, Trader Joe's on Epps Bridge, Athens Farmers Market, Collective Harvest, UGA Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, and UGA Foods and Nutrition Department in our everyday operations. Campus Kitchen is also a part of the Athens Senior Hunger Coalition. Learn more about our operations, donors and client base here.
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