Campus Kitchen

Student-Powered Hunger Relief

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The Campus Kitchen at IUPUI (CKIUPUI) is a student-powered food rescue and hunger relief initiative and a model of social, economic, and environmental entrepreneurship where students address social challenges with sustainable solutions. 

CKIUPUI rescues food from going to waste, transforms it into healthy meals, and serves to those experiencing food insecurity on campus and in the community. CKIUPUI employs a lean operating model of utilizing rescued food, existing university kitchen space, and volunteers to prepare and serve meals. 

CKIUPUI is administered by IUPUI Sustainability with direct support from IUPUI Food Services. CKIUPUI would not exist without the support provided by our campus and community partners. Running a Campus Kitchen builds leadership skills, offers entrepreneurial opportunities, and fosters personal and community relationships students use today and carry with them into future careers.

About CKIUPUI

  • Strengthen bodies by using existing resources to meet hunger and nutritional needs in our community
  • Empower minds by providing leadership and service learning opportunities to students, and educational benefits to adults, seniors, children and families in need
  • Build communities by fostering a new generation of community-minded adults through resourceful and mutually beneficial partnerships among students, social service agencies, businesses and schools.

Since 2014, CKIUPUI has rescued over 35,000 pounds of food with the help of over 2,200 student volunteers who have served over 11,700 meals to those in need.

Paws' Express repurposes excess food to fight students' food insecurity

The Office of Student Advocacy and Support and the Office of Sustainability have partnered to create Paws' Express, a program that provides IUPUI students with nutritious meals on the go, utilizing repurposed food from campus and community partners.

Senior Dylan Patterson prepares meals for the new Paws' Express program in the Campus Center kitchen. Photo by Liz Kaye, Indiana UniversitySenior Dylan Patterson prepares meals for the new Paws' Express program in the Campus Center kitchen. Photo by Liz Kaye, Indiana University

Campus Kitchen Operations Report 2019-2020

Author; Ashabul Alam, Project for Research on Organizations, Management, and Publicness Theory (PROMPT) Research Assistant

The Campus Kitchen at IUPUI supported a research study of Campus Kitchen operations across the country in effort to compile qualitative and quantitative data of current practices each Campus Kitchen utilize in their operations.  The PI designed, implemented, and analyzed the Campus Kitchen operations interview protocol to understand each Campus Kitchen’s structure, mission, daily operations, and definition of effectiveness. Thanks to the guidance from both Dr. Cullen C. Merritt, founding director of PROMPT and an assistant professor at the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs (O’Neill), and Dr. Marlene Walk, an assistant professor at O’Neill with research areas in nonprofit management and leadership.

  • Ashabul Alam
  • Dayquan Elliott
  • Dylan Patterson

  • Holy Family Shelter
  • IUPUI PAWS Pantry
  • IUPUI Gather at The Table - on campus community meals
  • Ronald McDonald House at Riley Hospital
  • St. Philip's Episcopal Church
  • Wheeler Mission Men's Residential
  • Wheeler Mission Women's & Children Shelter

Volunteer with The Campus Kitchen at IUPUI

With multiple ways to get involved, we are always looking for dedicated volunteers in the following areas:

Cooking Shifts: Assist CKIUPUI Shift Leaders in creating a nutritious meal. No cooking experience necessary, just come ready to have fun and serve our community!

Delivery Shifts: Assist CKIUPUI Shift Leaders with delivering the meals to local pantries, homeless shelters, and community centers. Volunteers will assist with the meal delivery preparations and/or clean-up. We provide all transportation--just come ready to help out.

Food Rescue Shifts: Assist the CKIUPUI Shift Leaders with rescuing food from donor agencies.

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