Beckley Named to Campus Kitchens Project's National Board
Harlan Beckley, the Fletcher Otey Thomas Professor of Religion and director of the Shepherd Poverty Program at Washington and Lee University, has been named to a three-year term on the Board of Visitors of the Campus Kitchens Project (CKP).
Beckley is one of nine new board members who CKP announced at its annual conference on Thursday (Oct. 27, 2011) in St. Louis. He is joined on the board by several celebrated chefs, food advocates and leaders from business and non-profit communities.
“We are extremely excited to have so many visionary leaders as part of the same group,” said Robert Egger, president of the Campus Kitchens Project and its parent organization, DC Central Kitchen. “Their skills and talents all share a common passion for fighting hunger and food inequalities. As our Campus Kitchens continue to grow, such leadership is essential.”
The Campus Kitchens Project is the national food-recovery and hunger-fighting organization now active on 31 campuses in 21 states.
Washington and Lee has one of the most successful Campus Kitchen organizations. Founded in 2006 by Ingrid Easton, a 2006 Washington and Lee graduate, the W&L program provides hunger relief in Rockbridge County. It accomplishes this goal through recycling food, which comes as donations from the University’s Dining Services, Lexington’s Walmart and Kroger grocery stores, Aramark food services at VMI, fraternities and restaurants. Student volunteers serve about 600 meals a week during the academic year and often dine with the food recipients.
“I am honored to be invited to serve Campus Kitchens on the national level,” said Beckley. “We are immensely proud of our Campus Kitchen here at Washington and Lee, and I think we can do even more to use it as an opportunity to educate our students about community, hunger, nutrition and health.”
A member of the Washington and Lee faculty since 1974, Beckley helped create and became the first director of the Shepherd Program for the Interdisciplinary Study of Poverty and Human Capability in 1997. He was named the Fletcher Otey Thomas Professor of Religion in 1999 and, in 2002, received the Commonwealth of Virginia’s highest award for excellence in education, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia’s Outstanding Faculty Award. He has served as vice president and president of the Society of Christian Ethics and as acting president of Washington and Lee in 2005-06.
In addition to Beckley, the other new board members are Robert Egger, chair, founder and president, DC Central Kitchen and The Campus Kitchens Project; Jose Andres, owner of Think Food Group, which includes restaurants in Washington, Beverly Hills, New York and Las Vegas; Alice Waters, founder of Edible School Yard and owner of Chez Panisse restaurant; Gary Oppenheimer, founder and executive director of AmpleHarvest.org; Timothy Cipriano, executive director of food services for the New Haven (Conn.) Public Schools; Ken Meyer, vice president of Whole Foods’ mid-Atlantic region; Cathy Ahlschlager, community outreach director, The Ronald McDonald House of Eastern North Carolina; and Tony Geraci, food service consultant and former director of food and nutrition for the Baltimore City Public Schools.
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Jeffery G. Hanna
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jhanna@wlu.edu
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