Augsem F Presents: The Campus Kitchens Project!

Drew Manke

When I first heard about being required to do service hours for my Aug-sem I would have to say I was less than thrilled. After realizing that my procrastinating was not going to solve my problem I decided to sign up for a cooking shift. When the moment to cook finally came I sauntered my way up to the Kitchen to discover that many of my friends were also there. After goofing around for a while Abby came and introduced herself. She was warm, nice, and was fun to work with. Not only that but actually working in the kitchen discarded all of my preconceived notions. I found cooking in the kitchen was a good time. The cooking was not intimidating, it was simply doing some cutting, mixing, baking, and cooking. All in all the dreaded service hours were not a waste of time. Instead I found them to be a nice break in the day. I also enjoyed what I was doing and who I was working with.

Jennifer Ramos

On Tuesday of every week a group of 4 to 6 volunteers get together to deliver food that was previously prepared by the Monday night crew. When we first get there to deliver we sign in and then go into the kitchen to finish up the preparation of the food. If any thing needs to be heated up we place it in the oven and once it is done in there we are off.

Our stop on Tuesdays is the Brian Coyle Community Center, which is located in Cedar-Riverside Neighborhood, one of the most densely populated and culturally diverse communities in the state. This neighborhood of about two blocks has approximately 1,800 apartments, and out of those 1,800 apartments the Coyle Center servers approximately 5,000 of those residents annually.

When we arrive at the Brian Coyle Center we first set up the food and get ready to serve. On a typical Tuesday afternoon we serve anywhere from 20 to 40 elementary aged children.

One thing that I will never forget is just the look on their faces when they see that we have brought them some food. Along with being happy about the food they are excited to see us(the volunteers).

One experience that was really fun was when the same goup of us seven volunteers (Amber, Al, Ali, Tyler, Abby, Myalisa, and myself(Jennifer) arrived on about the third delivery that we had made to the Bian Coyle Center and the kids all recognized us because it was the same group of us that hade been going there.
It was really nice because I felt that we got on a more personal level, meaning that we all felt that we knew these kids and the kids knew us. It made the day better knowing we could talk and joke around with them. On this day we also played a name game so we could really get to know the whole big group. It was interesting because they would say there name and something fun they have done in the last year and what they would tell us gave us a little insight to who they were.

After we are done serving and playing games or just talking among st ourselves we clean up and pack our things. We all say good-bye to the kids and they go off to either get help on their homework or play. And after an hour and a half there it feels good to have spent some time serving food and giving a little of my time to someone else.

"Making the deliveries make me feel like I have done something to help someone less fortunate than myself. At the end of the day I feel better knowing that I have made a impact on someones life."

Al Hutterer

On Thursdays, Campus Kitchens serves food to the Peacehouse on Franklin Ave. It is a safe house for mostly men, and a few women, who are homeless or live in low-income housing around the area. For many of us who deliver during the week, it is a favorite stop. When we get there around 11:15 in the morning, we sit in on the Thursday discussion group, which is one of the bigger discussion groups of the week. We discuss things like friendship, politics, and current issues, and the opinions cover a wide range. Arguments can get pretty heated. Before this discussion is over, we get up and prepare the food to be served
and eaten, and after the group is done talking and a prayer is said, they come for the grub. Once everyone is served, we dish ourselves up some food and go eat and talk with everyone.

One of my favorite memories would have to be the day we all sang. Everyone had basically finished eating and we were chatting in the common area. Bob is one of the sweetest old men you can imagine, and the subject came up that he is a
good singer, so of course we asked him to sing for us. He gave us a shy smile and cleared his throat… and launched into a beautiful version of an old romantic song that outdated all of us youngsters. In return he asked that we sing for him, so Amber and Maja Lisa, who both have gorgeous voices, sang Amazing Grace. After that everyone in the room burst out in “If You’re Happy And You Know It”, and then Bob jumped up and proclaimed that he had a wonderful song he wanted to share with us… and then began a moving rendition of the National American University theme song.

The people at the Peacehouse have always been open and inviting to us. Though sometimes it might be difficult and awkward, we are quickly becoming friendly with them and enjoy our time there more and more. There are three students
from Cretin-Durham High school that also volunteer there- Joelle, Claire, and Tommy- and we all have a good time. The people seem to be very receptive and thankful that we manage to come every Thursday without fail, and we try to do
our best to have fun with them. They are friendly, talkative, and passionate in their beliefs, and continually surprising to all of us. I think it is safe to say that we will enjoy continuing our service at the Peacehouse, and that it is an experience no one would regret.