Bucknell Community Engagement Newsletter - October 2024

"Food is national security. Food is economy. It is employment, energy, history. Food is everything."

-Chef Jose Andres

Help us Support Food Security!

This October, we are hosting a Gift Card drive for one of our long-standing Food Programs, Community Harvest. Community Harvest started in 2005 and has evolved into its current day model of a drive-through fresh meal distribution program. Every Monday, about 170 meals are prepared at St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church in Milton, using produce from the Bucknell Farm and Lewisburg Community garden. This program relies on the power and energy of volunteers in order to ensure meals are prepared, packaged and distributed to our neighbors who experience food insecurity. This past year we have had approximately 952 volunteer hours which converts to a monetary value of $29,797.60 (according to 2023 PA value of a volunteer). One in nine people in Northumberland county experience food insecurity. Food insecurity continues to be a community identified priority in our SUN region.

We also rely on the generosity of donors to be able to prepare these weekly meals. Your gift card donation will help us continue to make tasty meals like chili-cheese casserole with a fresh side salad and meatball subs with fresh fruit, two recent meals we made. We try to keep costs as low as possible and your gift card, no matter how small, will help! One of the key components of Community Harvest is that there are no eligibility requirements for participants. Everyone is welcome to come to this program and take part. Check out this video of Community Harvest to see the program in action!

Gift cards can be dropped off in the Center for Community Engagement in the Bertrand Library (first door on the right after you enter). You can also donate online here and select Community Harvest in the drop down menu. If you have any questions please reach out to Cathleen Stenglein, Food Programs Coordinator at cs094@bucknell.edu

If you want to engage with Community Harvest, register for a volunteer shift on Engaged Bucknell or reach out to Shelly Sholley, Food Access Coordinator at mls058@bucknell.edu

If you are interested in getting involved with supporting food security in our region, check out the SUN Hunger Coalition. If you like data and are interested in learning more about our community’s experience accessing food, please check out the SUN Hunger Mapping Project, a project conducted by the Central PA Food Bank in collaboration with The Union-Snyder Community Action Agency Food Hub and Central Susquehanna Opportunities.

Lunch & Learn: Community Impact Summer Interns: Thursday, Oct. 3 Noon—12:50 p.m.Join us for a Lunch and Learn workshop featuring The Bucknell Center for Community Engagement’s 2024 Community Impact Assistant Summer Interns! RSVP here.

Lunch & Learn: Shepherd Poverty Internship Program: Tuesday, Oct. 22, 12—12:50 p.m., Center Room, Elaine Langone Center, Bucknell. The Bucknell Shepherd Poverty Internship Program coordinates and supports an eight-week Summer Internship Program where cohorts of interns live together and work full-time with community partners engaged in anti-poverty work. Students who participated in the internship last summer will be sharing about their experiences and learning. Lunch is provided. RSVP here.

Join DIG Furniture Bank at their Pop-Up Packing Night in Milton on October 28th from 5-7pm! You will help DIG pack some of their most needed kits and sets (theme and kit to be announced on social media), and those individuals bringing a donation will be entered to win a prize. Registration is available on Engaged Bucknell.

Turkey and Trimmings: Bucknell’s annual Turkey and Trimmings Program will be held in November, and the Center for Community Engaged Leadership, Learning & Research is asking for help to build food security in our area by putting together a basket of non-perishable food items for a family of four or more. If you'd like to participate, please review the guidelines and fill out this google form. Then you can use this Engaged Bucknell page to sign- up for a time slot to drop off your basket. Please reach out to Shelly Sholley at mls058@bucknell.edu if you would like any more information.

Student voter registration workshops! See graphic to left for more information!

Food Stories Exhibit: You are invited to visit the art gallery exhibition space @ Holmes Hall Room 103, to see examples of the stories students have submitted regarding their experiences with food on Bucknell's campus. This exhibit, curated by Management faculty Robyn Eversole and Melissa Intindola and MIDE student Paloma Flores-Montero, is a collaboration with our colleagues in Art who have given us dedicated space and support to display students' stories. Stories will be displayed beginning Thursday, September 26th through October 10th.

Bucknell Faculty: The Center for Community Engaged Leadership, Learning & Research (CELLR), we would like to hear from you! If you have conducted and/or published research involving community engagement during the time period 2021-now, would you please take a moment to complete this Google Form? You will be asked for the citation of your research.