Jenny Kornuta fought hunger during winter break in 2007, and she’s trying to bring that fight to the University and Baton Rouge communities soon. The mass communication senior volunteered for St. Louis University’s Campus Kitchen Project that December, preparing and delivering meals to families in need. “I never really thought about it before I went to St. Louis,” she said. “The idea of a group of students being able to do something so big while having fun is great.”The Campus Kitchen Project is a national program based out of Washington, D.C. Twenty campuses participate in the program, and Kornuta hopes LSU will become the 21st. “Campus Kitchen volunteers pick up unused, quality food from campus dining providers, as well as from local grocery stores and farmers’ markets,” according to its 2008 annual report. “Trained volunteers cool and store the donations according to established food handling regulations.”Volunteers then prepare meals with the donated food using donated kitchen space during off-hours. “The Campus Kitchen mission is to strengthen bodies, empower minds and build communities,” Kornuta said. “It’s about trying to be creative in finding partnerships within the community.” The Campus Kitchen Project has served 830,857 meals since its inception in 2001 and engaged nearly 19,000 volunteers across the country, the report states. After making the meals, volunteers deliver them to local organizations as well as low-income families and individuals, the report stated. Kornuta said she remembered having conversations with the people who received meals and how regular volunteers at St. Louis University got to know the families they delivered meals to over time. “It was the highlight of their day,” she said. “They were so thankful.”  Volunteers will also participate in programs that educate people about nutrition. “These programs are often implemented as service learning projects, where students apply classroom knowledge to real-life situations and teach valuable skills to low-income individuals,” according to the report. The LSU Campus Kitchen Project isn’t a national affiliate yet. Kornuta has to get the group approved by the University as an official student organization first. “I am 100 percent supportive of student-led initiatives, and this one definitely targets the servant leader in students at LSU,” said Mary Wallace, associate dean of students and director of Campus Life, in an e-mail to The Daily Reveille. Kornuta designed the program during a leadership development course she took last semester. She said she wants to have a kick-off event in January for the LSU Campus Kitchen Project which would feature guest speakers from the Baton Rouge community. About 25 percent of people living in Baton Rouge are living in poverty, according to 2007 U.S. Census Bureau data. Kornuta’s plan — developed with other University students — includes establishing partnerships with area food banks, fundraising and getting grants from places like the Rotary Club of Baton Rogue, the University Presbyterian Church and other organizations. Wallace said more people need assistance as they deal with the realities of a slow economy. Kornuta and other students involved in the development of the LSU Campus Kitchen Project are meeting with University officials soon to get the group approved. A Facebook group was created to generate buzz about the program. The group includes links to the Campus Kitchen Project’s national Web site as well. “This project, if designed well, could have the potential to impact some of the poverty issues in Baton Rouge,” Wallace said.
 
 
 
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