The Campus Kitchen at the University of Kentucky

A student-powered hunger relief effort in the Department of Dietetics and Human Nutrition at the University of Kentucky (UK), the Campus Kitchen at UK (CKUK) is more than just an organization – it’s a family. Our volunteers become close friends, our leaders become young professionals, and our community continues to grow and improve with every passing year. Endless possibilities begin with us. 

Campus Kitchen aims to provide an environmentally sustainable solution for food insecurity through the recovery and repurposing of food that would otherwise be wasted from campus dining, grocery stores, farmers markets, and restaurants. CKUK has built upon this goal in a variety of ways, including utilizing locally sourced food, composting all food scraps, and reducing plastic waste in our kitchen. Volunteers can sign up at for various shifts including processing, recovery, cooking, delivery, and/or gardening. 

Since 2014, CKUK has engaged over 7,700 students from 100 plus majors representing nine different UK colleges in recovering over 42,000 pounds of food and serving nearly 24,000 nutritious meals to campus members and local nonprofit organizations including Nathaniel Mission, Ronald McDonald House, and many more. As the mission of Campus Kitchen is not only to strengthen bodies, but also to empower minds and build communities, we implement a wide variety of outreach programs, including nutrition and garden initiatives, food policy events, and cooking classes. Through our gardening programs with schools, food recovery, meal delivery, and outreach activities, we aim to promote sustainable food system practices within the UK and Lexington communities.

The way we embody three pillars of sustainability (i.e. environmental stewardship, social inclusion, and economic viability) in our core values is apparent in our largest program, Farm-to-Fork, that occurs every Wednesday from 11am-1pm in Funkhouser Building Room 207, the Nourish space. Campus Kitchen’s Farm-to-Fork provides free nutritious meals to all UK students along with educational materials. Students can choose to dine-in or bring to-go and those who dine-in have a chance to connect with students from various majors and enjoy a welcoming dining experience.

Campus Kitchen understands our volunteers are students first, so we encourage students to grow with us through leadership, internship, academic, and research opportunities. Shift captains lead their assigned weekly shifts while Executive Committee members ensure the operations run smoothly and nurture partnerships. We are blessed with a passionate Executive Committee and are thrilled to welcome an incoming team, who are just as dedicated to Campus Kitchen’s mission as everyone before them. Additionally, our students can receive course credits for their leadership efforts and research projects through the Certificate in Food Systems and Hunger Studies and courses, such as DHN 320 Experiential Learning in Hunger Studies.

These courses and certificates are open to all majors. Last but not least, our advisor, Kendra OoNorasak, supports students on professional development through presentations of research and/or programmatic findings at regional and national conferences.