Campus Kitchen

The organization is headquartered in Washington, D.C., on the campus of Gonzaga College High School.

There are currently 63 Campus Kitchens, located in Saint Louis, Missouri; Evanston, Illinois; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Spokane, Washington; Mankato, Minnesota; Washington, D.C.; Lexington, Virginia; Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Kearney, Nebraska; Williamsburg, Virginia; Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; Baltimore, Maryland; and more (see full list of Campus Kitchens below).

In 1989, Robert Egger, founder and CEO of DC Central Kitchen, pioneered the idea of recycling food from around Washington DC and using it as a tool to train unemployed adults to develop valuable work skills.

DCCK became a national model, and as the idea grew, and groups around the country started to open kitchens, Robert started looking for a way to engage the thousands of underutilized school cafeterias and student volunteers in the effort, particularly in rural communities.

In 2001, the two concepts came together, and with a start-up grant from the Sodexo Foundation, The Campus Kitchens Project piloted its first program at Saint Louis University in Missouri.