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Campus Kitchens at Virginia Tech

www.campuskitchens.org

It’s a sad fact that we produce enough food in this country to feed everyone in it, yet hunger remains a problem for many. 

Virginia Tech is joining the effort to change that.  It kicks off its “Campus Kitchens” program Wednesday, September 30th.  It’s a carefully orchestrated volunteer effort to save still-fresh food, left over from student dining halls, and get it to people who need it.  

What are known as Campus Kitchens, are springing up at colleges and universities all over the country. It’s an effort to help feed the hungry.  They reclaim surplus food from college dining halls according to a strict set of standards. Students at Virginia Tech have been training in methods of repurposing the perfectly good left over food that might otherwise have gone to waste.

"Campus kitchens have a unique aspect to them and that is taking the excess food and creating new meals from them."

Perry Martin, a director of community learning with VT says 100 students have already been trained and that number keeps growing.  

And so one exciting aspect of this program is, we will be in a kitchen location here on campus, we are working with some students in a community nutrition program here at Tech and we’re exploring what kinds of menus can we look at from what’s being provided to us.

He points out that they simply accept excess food at this point, because, safe handling and perfect timing are key to the process but they’re hoping to spark conversation about food reclamation and expand the project in the future.

Robbie Harris is based in Blacksburg, covering the New River Valley and southwestern Virginia.
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