A UF organization is competing to raise donations for food to help the less fortunate.
Campus Kitchens at UF is currently No. 10 in the Campus Kitchens Project’s annual Raise the Dough Challenge, a seven-day competition in which 20 Campus Kitchens work to raise the most money in a week. The branch that raises the most or has the largest number of individual donors will receive $2,500 from the nationwide organization.
“We collect food donations, but oftentimes we don’t have enough ingredients for a well-rounded, nutritious meal,” said Nico Waler, the kitchen’s co-president.
The organization uses on-campus kitchens in the Reitz Union to collect food donations, cook meals and deliver food to those in need, said the 21-year-old UF biology senior.
Since the competition started Friday, the kitchen has raised $235. It hopes to raise $2,500 by the time the competition ends.
Each donor to the UF kitchen’s page has the chance to “dare” members of the organization as a reward for his or her donation. The dares will be documented on the organization’s Facebook page.
Although the organization hasn’t received any dares yet, the donors who’ve already given are currently brainstorming their dares.
“It’s a chance to raise money and also have a little fun with it,” Waler said. “It’s goofy and harmless, and we do reserve the right to ask for a different dare.”
Andrea Pena, a 19-year-old UF applied physiology and kinesiology sophomore, said that as a nutritional sciences minor, she liked the group’s emphasis on donating nutritional meals.
“I don’t have any cash, but if I did, I would definitely donate,” said Pena. “I think it’s a really good cause. I’m a big advocate for healthy food.”
[A version of this story ran on page 8 on 2/25/2014 under the headline “Campus Kitchens competes for money for nutritious ingredients"]
