The Tripod

Students are often less than satisfied with the cuisine Chartwells has to offer; however, many Hartford families hunger for the bountiful dining options at Trinity. Starting May 2 though, these families can enjoy what we often take for granted, through the help of a campus kitchen project. ConnPIRG, Hillel, and Chartwells are sponsoring this project, which will continue the following academic year.

The project ("MAZON") is a national Jewish anti-hunger organization. Mazon means sustenance or food in Hebrew. Sophomore Martha Goodwin is a MAZON fellow who has helped start the project at Trinity

The purpose of the fellowship is to work for two semesters towards raising hunger awareness on campus and starting an ongoing campus-wide initiative. MAZON is a unique organization because it works to provide food for the hungry and to pass legislation to improve hunger problems nationally and globally. MAZON allocates donations from the Jewish community to prevent and alleviate hunger among people regardless of faith or background. It also funds emergency food providers, food banks, multi-service organizations, and advocacy groups.

This February, Goodwin went with several members of Trinity's Hillel student board members to the Spitzer Conference in Washington, D.C. National Hillel funded the conference, and it has a social-justice related theme -- this year, the theme was "sustainability," and Goodwin felt inspired by this to create this project.

Director of Hillel Lisa Kassow said, "[Goodwin] met the national representative of Campus Kitchen there, and has spent much of this semester preparing the ground for this major program that strives to bring together many different student organizations for the purpose of feeding the hungry, very close by in Hartford."

Along with other students, Goodwin was trained at the Spitzer Conference. As the social action chair of the Hillel student board, Goodwin has worked to start several smaller initiatives this year, the largest\being the campus kitchen project. "For Passover, I led a MAZON-inspired Seder," Goodwin said.

The Campus Kitchens Project is a national organization, dedicated to fighting hunger in communities, empowering minds by providing leadership and service learning opportunities to college students, and building communities by fostering a new generation of community-minded adults through resourceful and mutually beneficial partnerships among students, social service agencies, businesses and schools.

ConnPIRG had attempted to start this project before, but with Goodwin's help it became a reality. "At the conference I met one of the leaders of the national Campus Kitchens project. I knew that ConnPIRG had tried to start it last semester, so after I learned more I decided that we could definitely do the project at Trinity," she said. Kassow added, "I am deeply moved and impressed by all of the initiatives that Trinity College students are passionately involved in to help the world around them." She discussed the impression it makes on individuals. "This kind of positive focus creates powerful bridges of understanding among different people and groups." Groups such as this which reach out to the city help to create stronger bonds between the College and Hartford and improve Trinity's relations with the city. "The Campus Kitchen project is Goodwin's main focus as a MAZON fellow," Kassow said.

Chartwells generously donated all the food, which will be cooked and delivered to Mercy House and My Sister's Place for dinner the same day. Goodwin said, "Cooks for this first round will be members of ConnPIRG and Hillel." She elaborated that in the following year different organizations, from various aspects of the community, will prepare a meal each month for a homeless shelter." Even though campus organizations are diverse in their goals and beliefs, the project will connect this broad range of groups with a common cause.

"The concept is that our campus will make a longstanding commitment to provide dinner to a shelter once a month," she said. Goodwin hopes the project will be a mechanism for students to connect with the Hartford community. Goodwin said, "Trinity is in a perfect location to do this service, because we are close to many shelters, and are always seeking new opportunities to strengthen our relationship with the Hartford community just beyond the fences that enclose our campus."

Events such as Relay for Life are examples of programs that tie together Trinity with the greater community. Kassow said, "Relay for Life comes to mind as another example of this kind of effective and successful program that a critical mass of students gets involved with. I believe that these efforts need to be honored, supported, and encouraged by everyone associated with our Trinity College and Hartford communities."

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