Starting this quarter, on any given Friday night, DU students can head over to the global kitchen on the first floor of the Community Commons for a community dinner hosted by the DU Food Pantry.
The food pantry is a part of the Center for Sustainability on campus, and it is a free and accessible resource for anyone with a DU ID number who may be experiencing food insecurity or simply needs the resource of a warm meal on a Friday night.
In addition to combatting inequitable access to meals on campus, the weekly community dinners are meant to foster connections among undergraduate and graduate students as well as staff.
“The current community has been really supportive,” said Amber Begay, an intern with the food pantry. [It’s great] to know that people show up and that they are looking forward to these warm, culturally centered meals which are hard to find in college.”
All of the meals are cooked by volunteers, but the ingredients are provided by the food pantry. For those who would like to cook for a big group of people without paying, fill out this form or reach out via email at foodpantry@du.edu.
While a lot of the meals have been culturally traditional cuisine, the food pantry has no limits for what kind of food volunteers can cook or who can attend the dinners. “[Culturally centered dinners are] just what we’re focusing on right now to meet the current needs of the students who are using the pantry,” said Begay.
Some of the meals they have had so far this year are mapo tofu, gajar ka halwa, Navajo tacos, chicken tikka masala, pav bhaji, takoyaki and dumpling stew. They have even had freshly made smoothies as an accompanying drink at some of the dinners.
They do their best to have a vegan option at every meal, but since the menu is based on what volunteers want to cook, this isn’t always an option. “We don’t want to completely limit [dietary options], especially with culturally-based meals,” said Begay.
However, the pantry does its best to accommodate different dietary restrictions to encourage all to attend, so long as the needs of patrons are communicated.
The community dinners are full of laughter, collaboration and meeting new people. There is already a growing group of people who consistently attend every week.
“We’ve had a lot of frequent visitors, and those people are also volunteering, coming into the kitchen to help cook and clean, so it’s nice to know that we have that support system not only in the students that are here but also with the faculty and staff,” said Begay.
The community dinners have the potential to make a significant impact on DU’s campus, decreasing food insecurity and building a welcoming community that provides delicious, warm meals every week.
“[The dinners] allow the opportunity for students to have that sense of belonging, especially through sharing their cultural meals without a financial barrier,” said Begay.
Begay has high hopes for the longevity of the program and the potential for it to grow with time, especially with what they have experienced so far with student and staff engagement.
While their anticipated capacity for the event is 25 per week, they often have extra food that they want to be eaten, or at least taken home in Tupperware to reduce food waste. To register for this week’s dinner, sign up on Crimson Connect.
“We just want to make sure everyone has a warm meal on Friday night when there’s not that many resources on campus to provide that for them,” said Begay.
The pantry where the food is distributed throughout the rest of the week is located on the bottom floor of Driscoll Commons and is open Tuesday through Thursday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Visitors are provided with one bag of groceries every week that range from fresh produce, dairy products and canned goods to easy-to-make meals and snacks.
