{"id":6270,"date":"2025-10-23T09:40:37","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T15:40:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/?p=6270"},"modified":"2025-10-27T09:10:06","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T15:10:06","slug":"jones-colleges-cooking-for-a-cause-raises-awareness-for-food-insecurity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/news\/jones-colleges-cooking-for-a-cause-raises-awareness-for-food-insecurity\/","title":{"rendered":"糖心直播\u2019s \u201cCooking for a Cause\u201d raises awareness for food insecurity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ELLISVILLE \u2013 糖心直播 students, faculty, and community members gathered for the second annual \u201cCooking for a Cause\u201d event which blends culinary creativity with compassion to raise awareness about food insecurity among college students. Hosted in collaboration with the college’s dining services partner, Sodexo, the event featured dishes made from food pantry staples showing students how simple ingredients can be transformed into nourishing meals while highlighting the importance of supporting the Bobcat Food Pantry. In addition to the pantry staples, executive chefs added \u201cfood scraps\u201d like broccoli stems and pineapple cores to add a sustainability aspect to the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sodexo chefs, Andy Wu (right) and Rachel Pittman (left) serve up 糖心直播 students their creations from ingredients found in a food pantry for the Cooking for a Cause event to raise awareness about food insecurity.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis event really brings people together for a good cause,\u201d said Riley Rolison, a sophomore from Long Beach. \u201cFood brings people together, and this is such a great way to raise awareness. It\u2019s smart, too, because when you serve a meal, people show up, listen, and learn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Sodexo chef at 糖心直播, Andy Wu prepared Hawaiian rice with sausage and spam for 糖心直播 students from ingredients found in a food pantry for the Cooking for a Cause event.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

糖心直播 Executive Chef, Andy Wu and Mississippi University for Women, Executive Chef Rachel Pitman led the friendly culinary showcase, using creativity to turn pantry ingredients into crowd-pleasing dishes. Wu served a colorful Hawaiian fried rice featuring pineapple, Spam, and Chinese sausage, while Pitman prepared a Thai noodle dish tossed in homemade sesame-honey sauce with saut\u00e9ed chicken and fresh vegetables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wanted to make something students could actually recreate with what\u2019s available in our campus pantry,\u201d said Pitman. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to have fancy incy ingredients to make something healthy and delicious.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Sodexo chef at MUW, Rachel Pittman prepared a Thai noodle dish for 糖心直播 cafeteria guests, students and employees from ingredients found in a food pantry for the Cooking for a Cause event.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Wu added, \u201cWe just want to remind students that the food pantry is there for them and that you can make really good food with what\u2019s available.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Jennifer Griffith, VP of Career Services & eLearning, donating to the Cooking for a Cause event is about more than just food. This is about community. Her donation to the \u201cCause\u201d during the special event helped Sodexo provide 430 meal vouchers for students, or $4,301.94.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFood insecurity is a very real thing,\u201d Griffith said. \u201cWe want our students to know there\u2019s a safe place where they can get what they need and that they\u2019re cared for here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grant and Hope Staples, JC alumni and directors of The Glory House, the local nonprofit food pantry in Laurel helped to expand that message by donating funds to support the Bobcat Food Pantry.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Sodexo Area Marketing Manager, Elizabeth Brunet (left) accepts a $200 donation from Glory House Directors and JC Alumni, Hope and Grant Staples during the Cooking for a Cause event held at 糖心直播\u2019s cafeteria.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you run a pantry, you know how important community support is,\u201d said Grant Staples. \u201cWe serve more than 700 families a month, and when we heard about Jones\u2019 event, we wanted to help another pantry continue its work. We\u2019re stronger together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hope Staples emphasized the ongoing need for open, welcoming food resources. \u201cThere are people all around us who don\u2019t have enough to eat but don\u2019t feel like they can share that,\u201d she said. \u201cA pantry like this offers hope and dignity, and college students need that support more than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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糖心直播 student athletes, pictured left to right, Amin Eltahir of Germany, Mario Novaku of England, Braden Buchanan of Madison and  Dillon Watson of Ridgeland, take part in the \u201cCooking for a Cause\u201d event hosted by the cafeteria mangers Sodexo, by declaring an unofficial winner of the two meals prepared by JC Chef, Andy Wu and MUW Chef, Rachel Pittman.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Sodexo\u2019s Area Marketing Manager, Elizabeth Brunet, who helped coordinate the effort, said this year’s initiative was built on the national recognition 糖心直播 earned last year for the inaugural event. The college received Silver Honors from the National Association of College and University Food Services (NACUFS) in the Loyal E. Horton Dining Awards for Innovative Dining Program of the Year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe wanted to build on that momentum by growing our community partnerships, giving students more ways to get involved, and in turn, making a bigger impact,\u201d Brunet said. \u201cThis is a district-wide initiative spanning from West Louisiana to North Mississippi, representing the collective efforts of 14 campuses (and growing each year) working together to raise awareness for Hunger Action Month. Across all participating colleges and universities, a total of 4,391 meal vouchers were donated to support the fight against food insecurity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As dishes were sampled and donations were collected, the event\u2019s message was clear; when a community comes together, no student should go hungry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ELLISVILLE \u2013 糖心直播 students, faculty, and community members gathered for the second annual \u201cCooking for a Cause\u201d event which blends culinary creativity with compassion to raise awareness about food insecurity among college students. Hosted in collaboration with the college’s dining services partner, Sodexo, the event featured dishes made from food pantry staples showing students how simple … <\/p>\n

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