Stand for Something or You'll Fall for Anything

by Molly Bulman |  February 22, 2010

The Stand Up Campaign asked members of involved campus organizations to speak their peace about local social issues that hit home for them.  Mine's hunger, and so I say, stand for something or you'll fall for anything.

594,000 people in Virginia are considered "food insecure." Further, another 121,000 of your fellow Virginians are considered "food insecure with hunger."  (That's about  7.9% of the population of Virginia that do not get the nutrition they need to sustain a life; 2.8% of the population is considered "hungry", meaning they do not even eat 7 meals per week.

Think about your situation.  YOU think about weather of not to get that second sub at Quiznos or to make the Grande Iced Latte a Venti.  And yet, when YOU go a few hours without food, you complain.  Nothing could be worse than that feeling.  Too bad these voices drown out the voice of those that are truly hungry and who truly need our help.

The Campus Kitchen Project listens.  The idea behind our organization was the DC Central Kitchen, which began its first operations in 1989 after the Presidential inauguration by redistributing excess food.  CKP is founded on the idea that when fighting poverty and hunger, one must fight to win by using every resource available.  That can be food, money, people.  The whole concept is to recycle our resources.

The Campus Kitchen Project at William and Mary uses the Williamsburg Presbyterian Church  to store, prepare, and deliver meals to nearby low-income housing complexes and shelters.  Food is donated from A Gift From Ben, the farmers market, and area restaurants.  Nothing goes to waste.

The best part is, it is not a soup kitchen.  Poverty and hunger and waste are interconnected.  We recycle surplus food twice a week that would otherwise go to waste, and we turn it into 120 meals.  Campus Kitchens uses the existing ingredients of our society to strengthen bodies, empower minds, and build communities.

And this isn't a one-time project.  We continue to focus on long term solution.  We partner with local farmers, small businesses, and philanthropic citizens.  It's a very flexible organization, and we have to be because like society, hunger has rapidly changing demographics and issues.

There are 19 Campus Kitchens in the United States.  Together with other college-aged students, we can put up a powerful front against the cycle of poverty and the stereotypes surrounding hunger.  The best part is, it affects people right here in Williamsburg.