News Article

The Campus Kitchen at Gonzaga University (CKGU) will recognize the first graduates of its Culinary Job Training program from 6-7:30 p.m., Thursday, June 29 with a special ceremony to be held in the Globe Room of Cataldo Hall (407 E. Boone Ave.) at Gonzaga University.

Six adults will graduate from the program after eight weeks in the kitchen and classroom learning culinary skills and gaining valuable life-skills training. The trainees are in the process of seeking employment and have spent the last week interviewing for positions in Spokane.

A highlight of the Campus Kitchen program at Gonzaga was weekly participation in the local Avista community garden. The trainees tended the garden with senior gardeners and utilized the fresh produce in their own culinary lessons. As part of their training, the students prepared hundreds of meals that were delivered to community-based agencies and individuals’ homes throughout Spokane.

The event schedule includes a welcome and taste-testing from 6-6:30 p.m., presentation of graduates and remarks from 6:30-7 p.m., and a networking social from 7-7:30 p.m. The public is welcome to attend the graduation ceremony.

The Campus Kitchen at Gonzaga University started operations in August 2005 as a special partnership with Gonzaga and Sodexho, the campus food-service provider. To date, the Campus Kitchen has rescued more than 13,500 pounds of food, served more than 10,000 meals and engaged volunteers in more than 1,700 hours of community service. The Campus Kitchen delivers to nine community-based agencies and to 29 individuals’ homes. Its partner client agencies include the Spokane Neighborhood Action Project (SNAP), Gonzaga’s Campus Kids mentoring program, YWCA, and the Spokane AIDS Network.

CKGU is part of a national hunger relief organization titled The Campus Kitchens Project, a student-driven campus initiative in which high school and college students recycle un-served food from dining services, use school cafeterias to prepare meals, and deliver those meals to low-income youth, seniors, families, and community-based agencies. The mission of The Campus Kitchens Project is to strengthen bodies, empower minds, and build community.

For more information, contact Hannah Israel, Campus Kitchen at Gonzaga University, at (509) 323-6939 or Peter Tormey at Gonzaga at (509) 323-6132.