Elon Dining Services donates holiday meals

In coordination with Campus Kitchen at Elon University, Elon Dining Services staff prepared and packaged nearly 1,000 meals for distribution to those facing hunger in Alamance County the week of Thanksgiving.

Elon Dining Services staff members prepared and packaged nearly 1,000 meals this week for distribution to local nonprofits that assist those facing hunger in Alamance County.

In coordination with Campus Kitchen at Elon University, the Thanksgiving meals were prepared Nov. 23 inside Lakeside Dining Hall and transported Nov. 24 to Allied Churches of Alamance County, which provides food to the hungry in Burlington, North Carolina, and surrounding communities.

It was the second time in as many years that Elon Dining Services and Campus Kitchen at Elon University coordinated meal packaging during the Thanksgiving week.

“We wanted to do this again with the goal of creating a tradition of community service during the holidays involving our team and university partners,” said Pulkit Vigg, the resident district manager for Aramark, which runs Elon Dining Services. “We will continue to expand our community partnerships in the coming years to stay true to Aramark’s mission of ‘delivering experiences that enrich and nourish lives.'”

An affiliate of the national Campus Kitchens Project, Elon’s chapter is an on-campus service opportunity through the Kernodle Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement that collects unused and unserved food from community partners, including Elon Dining Services and Loy Farm, while engaging students, faculty and staff as volunteers who prepare and deliver the meals to those in need in the Burlington community.

“Allied Churches of Alamance County is an important organization in the Alamance County community,” said Stacey Rusterholz, coordinator of Campus Kitchen at Elon University. “This generous donation from Elon Dining Services will provide a hot Thanksgiving meal to community members facing food insecurity.”