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Dishing out Acts of Service

Campus Kitchen volunteers Jeffrey Smith, Sam Vazquez, Carly Velasquez, and Cecelia Pumpelly cook for Turkeypalooza.

12th annual UGA Turkeypalooza helps record number of families

Over 1,300 Athens community members will have meals for Thanksgiving and the days beyond thanks to the University of Georgia’s 12th annual Turkeypalooza.

The Campus Kitchen at UGA, a program coordinated by the University of Georgia’s Office of Service-Learning, partners each fall with the Athens Community Council on Aging, UGArden and Public Service and Outreach to provide meals for food insecure residents.

“They’re all senior led families who are experiencing food insecurity for one reason or another, be that they have medical conditions where they can no longer cook for themselves, they’re living at or near the poverty line, or they’re on disability,” said Andie Bisceglia, Campus Kitchen coordinator.

Written by Savannah Peat
Photos by Chamberlain Smith and Andrew Davis Tucker

Campus kitchen program coordinator Andie Bisceglia washes produce bins as she preps to harvest collard greens at UGArden.

Collard greens harvested at UGArden are washed in a bin by volunteers before packed into meals.

UGArden intern Simian Singh pulls leaves as she works with volunteers to harvest collard greens.

Kassidee Tang and Cindy Zheng, Campus Kitchen shift leaders, exit the storage container at UGArden where potato donations for Turkeypalooza are stored. These donations are part of the 150 fresh meals volunteers cook for recipients.

A can drive takes place for Turkeypalooza each year, to raise donations for grocery bags. Donations created over 300 grocery bags this year.

Overhead views of volunteers harvesting collard greens for prepared meals from UGArden’s fields.

Overflowing bags, plates and impact

The process of getting food to those who need it most is not a one-day affair.

Dozens of campus partners donated non-perishable or canned goods for the first portion of Turkeypalooza.

Volunteers then loaded up, unpacked and repacked those donations to create jam-packed grocery bags for families. This year, Campus Kitchen was able to produce over 300 of these care packages.

“One record that was broken, which is not a record you want to break, is that more people signed up than have ever signed up before. We are packing more grocery bags than we’ve ever packed before,” Bisceglia said.

But the real hustle began the weekend ahead of delivery day. Volunteers not only packed grocery bags but also prepared and portioned 150 Thanksgiving meals at Covenant Presbyterian Church and the Georgia Center for Continuing Education & Hotel.

UGArden grew and provided farm-fresh collard greens for these meals harvesting them just a few days before they reached kitchen tables. Along with veggies, meals contained green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, turkey and pumpkin pie.

That’s an impressive amount of food in a short amount of time prepared by a committed team of 20 PSO Student Scholars and 40 student and community volunteers.

Dustin Ellis, kitchen supervisor and catering manager for the Georgia Center for Continuing Education & Hotel takes turkeys out of the oven for Turkeypalooza meals.

Mashed potatoes, one of the fresh meal sides, are salted and cooked for fresh meal delivery.

Turkeys are prepared for Turkeypalooza at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education & Hotel.

Pans of stuffing cooked at Covenant Presbyterian Church.

Campus Kitchen graduate assistant Caitlin Grdinich drains potatoes during cooking for Turkeypalooza at Covenant Presbyterian Church.

Andie Bisceglia, Campus Kitchen Coordinator, (center) works with volunteers to package cranberry sauce for Turkeypalooza at UGArden. The sauce is one of the sides that make up the fresh meals for needy families.

Hunger doesn’t take a break

Grocery bags and prepared meals were picked up and delivered on Nov. 25. Although Turkeypalooza has come to an end this year, Bisceglia said it’s important to continue its spirit past the holiday season.

“Many people are shocked by the numbers of people in Athens who are living paycheck to paycheck or living right on the line,” she said. “It’s great people want to get involved around this time of year, but it is a year-round issue, and it never goes away.”

Help is especially needed during the summer months. Learn how to volunteer or what to donate by visiting the Campus Kitchen website.