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Minnesota State student volunteers will help fight hunger this Thanksgiving during the Turkeypalooza celebration put on by the Campus Kitchen Project
Thanks to these volunteers and other donations, more than 250 meals will be donated to people in the Mankato area.
The Campus Kitchen Project is a non-profit organization that partners with universities across the nation to help surrounding communities fight hunger through donations from such events as food drives, pancake breakfasts and fundraisers. Campus Kitchen at MSU works with University Dining and service-learning classes to provide more than 3,000 volunteers and 355 days of operation per year.
"We take leftover food from the dorms so it doesn't get wasted and are able to make over 300 meals a week," Sammie Eckerson, the director of Campus Kitchen said. "Families come and go since they may only need a couple of months to get back on their feet and it's sad to see them go but we're glad we helped them."
Turkeypalooza has been a nationwide event since 1999 and an MSU event for the past four years. Recognized Student Organizations, MSU college departments and even individual students donate $50 to go toward a turkey dinner, not a Thanksgiving dinner, since not everyone who will receive the food celebrates the holiday. The College of Business also does a lot of work off campus to get donations from various individuals and companies. Donated money also goes toward another large turkey meal to take home and extra groceries for the holiday season.
Student volunteers help prepare and package the turkey, stuffing, potatoes and gravy, rolls and apple pies in the Wieking Center kitchen. All of the food for Turkeypalooza, along with many other events Campus Kitchen holds, is purchased at Hy-Vee grocery stores. Volunteers also help by making greeting cards and delivering everything to five different shelters and one family in the Mankato community.
"Last year we didn't have too many volunteers," said Evan Hedwall of Campus Kitchen in Mankato. "People like volunteering and get excited about it."
Promotions for this event were a bit late since Hedwall wanted to wait until after the election to get the word out, but there was still a good response from the community. More than 100 volunteers are expected to take part in Turkeypalooza this year.
Turkeypalooza gives the turkey dinners to the Theresa House and Welcome Inn - which are temporary shelters, the Salvation Army, Echo Food Shelf and the Maxfield Place - a permanent shelter. Although volunteers enjoy bringing the donated food to these shelters, they do think a few changes could make everyone's experience better.
"Campus Kitchen wants to create independence and we don't want to make anyone feel ashamed since pride can be an issue," Eckerson said. "Maybe if we bring them up to campus and serve them similar to the way students get fed then they could feel more comfortable."
Eckerson said she would also like to see volunteers stay at the shelters and pass out the food instead of just dropping it off. But thanks to the large number of volunteers this year and the continuous support from Hy-Vee, both Hedwall and Eckerson said they see this event getting larger every year.
"It's easy for people to volunteer, and it doesn't take long to make a difference," Eckerson said. "Everything our volunteers do is making a difference in Mankato."
Shannon Keller is a Reporter staff writer
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