DCCK Opens 20th Campus Kitchen at Johns Hopkins University

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04.16.2009 --

On March 28th, the kick-off of the Campus Kitchen at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore marked the opening of the 20th Campus Kitchen across the country.

The opening ceremony was held in University Baptist Church which has offered the use of its industrial kitchen for meal preparation. Speakers included university President Ronald J. Daniels and Mike Curtin, CEO of DC Central Kitchen.

Curtin explained that Egger’s idea for CKP came from the concept of taking what was right in front of him and rearranging the resources.

"University kitchens around the country are not being used to their full potential," Curtin said. "There are so many young people who want to serve, and so much food going unused."

D.C. Central Kitchen has an agreement with the agencies to which it provides food. All the money that they save by receiving meals must be invested to help their clients on the road to self-sufficiency.

"How can we pretend that by providing food, we’re fighting hunger?" Curtin said. "We don’t want to be an enabler. We want to empower."

After the kick-off, volunteers prepared pasta primavera, bean salad and fruit salad for Manna House, a local center for homeless services. Students use vans belonging to the university’s Center for Social Concern for pickups and deliveries.