This spring, the Campus Kitchen at Baylor was presented with the national “Going Beyond The Meal” award from the national Campus Kitchens Project, of which Baylor’s kitchen is an affiliate. National leaders cited Baylor Campus Kitchen as “exemplary” in using food to build relationships, citing “Roots Day” as an example. “Roots Day” brought together Waco senior citizens to enjoy a health fair, free food, cooking and gardening demonstrations, aerobics and other activities.

“What makes the Campus Kitchens Project so great is the fact that providing meals is not our chief end. Our goal is to use meals as a means through which we are able to holistically eradicate poverty,” says Eric Pritt, Baylor Campus Kitchens coordinator and an AmeriCorps VISTA in Baylor’s Office of Community Engagement and Service. “‘Going Beyond the Meal’ is all about using food as a way to connect people, foster relationships and develop community between students, our campus and the people we serve.”

The Campus Kitchen is a student-led organization that focuses on food waste and alleviation of hunger in the city of Waco. Student teams recover food from dining halls, prepare healthy, nutritious meals for non-profits in town, and harvest fresh produce from our Baylor Community Garden.

Founded in 2008, CKBU has grown exponentially in the past years and is affecting the lives of many in our city. On average, the group recovers 10,000 pounds of food per year from the dining halls on campus. All of this food is given to the Salvation Army to feed the hungry. Last year, we served 6,320 fresh, nutritious meals to Mission Waco and the Family Abuse Center. All of the produce grown in the Baylor Community Garden is used in the meals prepard by students each week.

Baylor is one of 54 schools, and the first Campus Kitchen in Texas, who are making a difference to those who are hungry in our city.