Campus Kitchens

Campus Kitchens came to MSU for the first time last semester. A $67,000 grant covers some expenses and the work of a graduate assistant, but most of what the program needs is donated, such as the residence hall food.

It has quickly become one of the most popular volunteer opportunities on campus. Contrary to conventional wisdom, it is not just Greek organizations and other organized student groups sending students to sign up to volunteer (although many Greeks have been). Instead, most of the students who have signed on to deliver or prepare meals have been students unaffiliated with a campus organization who heard about the program and wanted to help out.

Lessons

Kelly Meier, Student Leadership Development and Service Learning department’s director, said Project Apple is exactly the kind of project college students should be involved in. All the groups that are infusing service learning into their curriculums are taking the next step in education and bringing the real world into a college education.

The College of Business, the Family and Consumer Science Department, Urban and Regional Studies Department and others who have taken this step are giving their students an invaluable experience.

“They are all contributing, all learning what it’s like to be civically engaged,” Meier said. “We are creating better citizens in the long run. What could be more noble than that?”

Project Apple also is giving the students a little bit of practical experience as well. They’ve worked through the “working with strangers thing,” they’ve worked as a team. And Flannery has had them go through each step of the process with utmost professionalism. They even had to prepare for a professional business meeting for their Culver’s partnership.