Sodexo's Cooking for a Cause events fight campus food insecurity at Southern universities

Foodservice provider Sodexo is making strides in its fight against food insecurity, recently hosting a culinary cook-off, dubbed Cooking for a Cause, at various college campuses across Louisiana and Mississippi. The goal behind this initiative is to continue to spread awareness about food insecurity on campus, Sodexo said, in a statement. In addition, the team hopes the competition gave students, chefs and campus organizations a platform to connect on the issue of food insecurity.
Participating colleges were challenged to host an event in which chefs create dishes using ingredients commonly found in pantry staples. Chefs could opt for ingredients like canned vegetables, meats and grains.

"Food Insecurity is not about filling empty stomachs, it is about nourishing the minds and empowering our campus communities,” said Phoebe Cook, Sodexo district manager, Louisiana and Mississippi, in a statement. “Cooking for a Cause was created to do just that—make a change in the lives of our students one small step at a time. More than 30% of our students report feeling insecure about their access to proper nourishment during their college years. It is our responsibility as campus partners to bring awareness and solutioning to this global issue.”

The Cooking for a Cause competition kicked off with events at Jones College in Mississippi and East Mississippi Community College. Other participating universities include Nicholls State University, Loyola University New Orleans, Mississippi University for Women, Xavier University, and other operations in the region.

In addition to the culinary cook-off, the dining teams also went the extra mile on decorating the dining hall. Stations were decorated to showcase school spirit, and mascots and cheerleaders also attended the events to bring energy to the competition.

And, of course, new creative recipes came out of the events as well.

Chef Dwayne Brown, from East Mississippi Community College, Scooba, put together a chicken and sausage jambalaya with blueberry and strawberry cobblers for dessert. Meanwhile, Chef Andy Wu from Jones College cooked up salmon croquettes over smoked gouda grits with a corn and bacon cream sauce. For dessert, he served up honey bun bread pudding.

The event at Jones College was a collaborative effort, with various organizations, such as the Bobcat Pantry, student services, the counseling department and the athletic apartment, all playing a role.

Chef Kraig Dixon of Dillard University served up chicken and lentil rice, while Xaiver University’s Chef Cornell Johnson created a salmon cake served over alfredo vegetable pasta. Both Xavier University and Dillard University invited community organizations, such as Second Harvest Food Bank, Top Box La and Feeding Louisiana, to share resources with event attendees.

Chef Matthew Box from Loyola University served up chicken manicotti while Nicholls State’s Chef Anthony Spizella created a jalapeno chicken popper. In round two of the competition, which took place at Nicholls State, Chefs Box and Spizella went head-to-head. Box served ramen jambalaya and a banana pudding parfait, but ultimately, Spizella took the victory with his chicken boudin burrito drizzled with rosemary sweet heat and served with corn maque choux and mini pecan pie.

“This event, Cooking for a Cause, perfectly accomplished the goal of raising awareness for food insecurity on college campuses. This event proved to all participants that a delicious meal does not have to be confined to the size of one’s budget, rather it is about embracing the ingredients you already have in the pantry,” said Cruz Cassard, a student at Nicholls State, in a statement.

At another event, in which East Mississippi Community College, Lion Hills, faced off against Mississippi University for Women, culinary students had the opportunity to participate. Chef Jackiero Dismuke, from East Mississippi Community College, Lion Hills, led a team of culinary students who helped the chefs at their stations. For this event, Chef Wade Shoemake from Mississippi University for Women created chicken fried rice, while Chef Dismuke served up a Mediterranean fried rice with apple pie turnovers. And, Chef Dwayne Brown from East Mississippi Community College offered chicken and sausage jambalaya, served with bread pudding for dessert. Other organizations also got involved in this event—for instance, Matthew Miles, who oversees the Owl Pantry at Mississippi University for Women, attended the event to provide resources on food assistance programs and invite students to participate in a grocery giveaway.

At the Cooking for a Cause event at Northwestern State University and Centenary College of Louisiana, there was a lively energy with cheerleaders and mascots entertaining the attendees. For this event, Chef Norman Hunt from Centenary College of Louisiana, served up a fall sweet potato and pumpkin soup with apricot and the chef from Northwestern State University created chicken street tacos with cilantro lime rice and Baja black beans.

“Cooking for a Cause gave Northwestern State the opportunity to engage our students and spirit groups to raise awareness of food insecurity while supporting our campus chef. The campus community collectively made the event fun, festive, and worthwhile. We look forward to Cooking for a Cause becoming an annual event,” said Reatha Cox, vice president of student experience and dean of students at Northwestern State University.

And Sodexo added another layer to ensure the company was making a difference in reducing food insecurity: For every swipe into the dining hall for these events, the foodservice provider donated one meal to a student in need, through its partnership with Swipe Out Hunger, a organization committed to reducing food insecurity for college students.  By the end of the programming, participating campuses had donated 2,933 meals to Swipe Out Hunger and campus food pantries, along with $2,586 in-kind donations and 671 non-perishable food items.

“When the basic necessities of life are provided for, students will persevere in their studies and be successful in the larger mission of why they are here at Nicholls State University,” said Andi Sonnier, student affairs case manager and Swipe Out Hunger Partner at Nicholls State.