Author: Greta Klawiter-Lein, Community Garden Coordinator

Fall is the perfect time to harvest veggies. And as the weather cools, stews and soups are a wholesome way to utilize these garden goodies! This fall, the Augsburg Community garden got to play host for a super special plant-based cooking class. In collaboration with Edible Boulevards; a food initiative focusing on supporting Green Zone residents, and the amazing Ifrah Hashi, we saw how to turn a bountiful fall harvest into a warm, delicious meal. It was such a warm, cozy early afternoon full of good food, good people, and beautiful stories.

Ifrah walked us through how to make a vegan lentil stew that hit all the right fall notes—hearty, flavorful, and perfect for chilly evenings. While she chopped garden kale and peppers, she shared about growing up cooking and peeling potatoes with her Somali mom in London. Her stories were personal and heartfelt, and made the food feel even more meaningful and filling.

The class brought together a really lovely mix of people—gardeners, students, neighbors, and community members, all learning together. The room was relaxed and welcoming, and of course, there were door prizes of dried lentils and culinary spices!

Big shoutout to Edible Boulevards for the work they do helping people grow food right in their boulevard spaces, and for hosting monthly plant-based cooking classes that bring folks together around healthy, accessible meals. Every month is a different cooking class, in a different community garden with rotating hosts. While the location and chef might change, the meal prepared is always vegan and focuses on elements of the chef’s cultural heritage.

Events like this remind us why the Augsburg community garden exists in the first place—to connect, to learn, and to grow (literally and figuratively).

HAPPY CONSTITUTION DAY!

Constitution Day is an American federal observance that recognizes the adoption of the United States Constitution and those who have become U.S. citizens. It is celebrated on September 17, the day the U.S. Constitutional Convention signed the Constitution in 1787 in Philadelphia.

Make a plan to vote on November 4.

This year local elections will be held on November 4 and Augsburg has made election day a holiday during which classes are canceled so that all eligible voters have time to vote. The office of the Minnesota Secretary of State has sample ballots and information about voting. If you have questions feel free to reach out to the Sabo Center staff, we’d love to help.

Written by Imogen Page, MSW Intern with Campus Kitchen

On the ground floor of the Anderson residence hall, the Augsburg Campus Cupboard is buzzing with activity. A student worker reminds fellow Auggies to grab a box or a bag for their free groceries, and around 15 students are shopping in Augsburg’s free food cupboard.

Today, there is plenty of fresh produce – salad greens, apples and pears, onions and potatoes in addition to fresh herbs and berries. A refrigerator stands full of milk, yogurt, cheese, and dairy alternatives, and a freezer contains frozen chicken, ready-to-eat meals, and tortillas. The week before, the cupboard distributed a shipment of halal beef, goat meat, and salmon. Students browse canned goods, fresh bread, dried beans, pasta, and rice in addition to coconut milk, oil, vinegar, ketchup, fish sauce, Tabasco, and salad dressings. 

“These condiments literally kill, dude” one student says to his friend as they choose from the shelves.

This is all part of the daily routine at the Campus Kitchen, where a team of student workers, interns, and staff operate the Campus Cupboard six days a week. We’re always busy – whether unloading boxes of produce from our trusty old van, stocking shelves, distributing hot meals and groceries to our neighbors, or cooking together in the food lab. 

Abi Hilden at the Augsburg Echo recently covered Campus Kitchen’s work, interviewing student worker Heldon Centellas about the cooking workshops, grocery distribution, SNAP application help and other work we do in our community.

“During the summer and fall months on Saturdays, we glean leftover produce from local farmers at the Mill City Farmers Market and redistribute it to our neighbors at Riverside Plaza! On Fridays during the majority of the year, we help distribute free produce to our neighbors there!” shares Centellas. In addition to these seasonal efforts, Campus Kitchen “[has] a community garden for people to grow their own food behind the Hagfors building, meal deliveries to Ebenezer Towers and Bethany Church, serving warm food at the Brian Coyle Center, provide assistance in SNAP applications, host giveaways, have open Food Lab hours, offer Cupboard online orders, and more!”

Our work at Campus Kitchen is possible because of support from Augsburg’s community. With growing food insecurity in our communities and the rising price of basic essentials, we need your help to keep providing nutritious food in our community. Your donation today helps to keep our community well-fed, healthy, and thriving. You can give here, and designate your gift to “Campus Cupboard.”

The Sabo Center’s Campus Kitchen program invites you to support our 2022 Give to the Max fundraiser. This year, we are raising funds for two important initiatives: The Augsburg Campus Cupboard and food access programming in Cedar-Riverside.

First, the Campus Cupboard provides free groceries to Augsburg students. Campus Cupboard use has rapidly expanded in the last three years, in response to increased food insecurity among Augsburg’s diverse student population. In 2019, an average of 50 students visited the Campus Cupboard to pick up free groceries each week. By September 2022, that average increased to 220 students per week. We regularly receive feedback from our students that the groceries we provide make a huge difference in their ability to access high-quality, healthy foods. Many students and their families now see this service as a critical piece of meeting their basic food needs.

In order to expand this work, we are raising funds to purchase culturally appropriate food items for our diverse student population. With your support we will be able to offer a wider variety of foods, providing our students with the specific staple foods they request regularly.

Second, we are seeking support for our food access and education work in our surrounding community of Cedar-Riverside. The Campus Kitchen program provides free meals, fresh produce, and cooking programming for our neighbors in Cedar-Riverside. A $60 donation covers supplies needed for one cooking class for neighborhood youth. Your donation will make a significant difference in our ability to meet the growing and diverse food needs of Augsburg’s student body and our neighbors in Cedar-Riverside.

Please support this work with a donation here.

Thank you for your generosity.

Bill loved donating any money he had to SABO and helping with dishwashing, singing and sharing his joy for living. 

He was quite the interesting character so I wanted to share some background on him, especially for any interested students and to expand people’s understanding and appreciation of mental illness. 

Bill, William Kenneth Ogren, was born April 6, 1950 in Washington D.C. to proud parents Marjorie and Ken Ogren. Bill, and his two younger siblings James and Jan grew up in Northern Virginia. His father worked as an agricultural diplomat and the family moved to Paris, France in 1967. Bill graduated from the American School of Paris in 1969. While in France he explored The Netherlands, Italy, Spain, and worked a summer at Heathrow airport in London, England. He loved art and became friends with artists and enjoyed showing people around museums. 

Both of Bill’s parents grew up on farms in Minnesota and so he chose Augsburg College to be near his beloved grandmother Emma Ogren. He went to Augsburg College in MPLS from 1969 to 1973. He was so well-spoken and well-liked that family and friends thought he might become a diplomat, like his father, or maybe a curator of a museum or art gallery. 

But in 1972 his life radically changed. It became apparent that he had some kind of illness that changed his brain function. He couldn’t communicate or process information they way he used to. He was homeless for a while and lost contact with family. Nevertheless, Bill managed to come through this time with a focus on being kind, generous, and helpful. He rarely used a phone, no longer drove a car, and never used a computer in his life. But he could wash dishes, set up tables for banquets, and make people happy. He worked at restaurants and hotels, often receiving recognition as Employee of the Month and in 1977, Employee of the Year for the Registry Hotel in MPLS. 

He reconnected with Augsburg College and was active in the campus ministry and the campus kitchen. He delivered meals with a song and enthusiasm. He loved getting to know visiting students and could remember everyone’s name and something significant about them. 

When his mind no longer functioned as it used to, he opened his heart.  

He died peacefully in his sleep on March 10, 2021 just shy of his 71rst birthday.

Nell Gerke

Graduated in 2019 – environmental studies major with an urban studies minor

What sparked your interest in Campus Kitchen?

• I joined Campus Kitchen through the LEAD Fellows Program; I talked with a woman who worked with Campus Kitchen at the time, and she talked about how much she got to work in the community, and I think that’s what really got me interested in it in the first place. I was already pretty interested in food systems, but the whole community aspect really sold me on CK.

What were the biggest challenges you faced working with Campus Kitchen?

• Finding students to do shifts with me! When there wasn’t a social work class where students needed to fulfill hours or something like that, I didn’t see a lot of people signing up for Campus Kitchen volunteering.

  What were some of the highlights of your time with CK?

• I can say that usually if I went into a meal shift feeling funky, I usually felt out of the funk after the meal shift, so it was always very healing. I love working in the community garden– that was always a highlight. It felt really good to have that connection with the community, and I had never gardened before. So I learned so much from everyone around me all the time, which was very cool. I loved the garden. I loved hosting the Garden Party food storytelling event too.

Skills you gained?

• I learned how to build community and relationships.
• I learned to be pretty scrappy with making food, just because we would always wind up with random stuff, and that would be my dinner. Making something out of what you have around is a great skill- that’s how I still cook my meals.

What are you currently up to and does it connect to CK?

• I work at a food Coop in Northfield, but I am also running for the Board of Directors, because I want to be more involved in my community and have a larger presence. 

Other things involved you were involved with at Augsburg?

• I played softball. I was a LEAD fellow. I was an RA briefly.

Many incredible student leaders have worked with Augsburg’s Campus Kitchen (CK) program over the years. Current CK student leaders Alana Goodson and Chouneng Khang interviewed several CK alumni to learn more about their experiences with the program.

Britta Andress

Majored in sociology, graduated 2019 

What sparked your interest in Campus Kitchen?

(Andress): I was in the LEAD Fellows program.

What were the biggest challenges you faced working with Campus Kitchen?

(Andress): Having to work within our budget was a challenge. We wanted to give the youth at the Brian Coyle Center better quality food but we were not able to afford it. 

 What were some of the highlights of your time with CK?

(Andress): The people, especially everyone on the Campus Kitchen student team working together and not being individualized/separated due to roles or titles.

Takeaways/Skills you gained?

(Andress): CK taught me that even small acts of awareness and change can have lasting impacts.

Giving back to the community is something I learned to really value.

What are you up to now? How does it connect to CK? 

(Andress): Meal prep is definitely something I still use and will always use to this day. So don’t underestimate its value. 

Other things you were involved with at Augsburg?

(Andress): I had a job outside of campus and was also a student research assistant for two of my professor independent research projects. 

Advice for current, future, past CK interns/volunteers?

(Andress): I learned to enjoy the process and not to participate just for the result. A lot of times when people volunteer, they do it to have it on their resume or for class credit. With Campus Kitchen, it’s important to stay in the present and see the impact and change happen over time because making a difference isn’t always a linear process. 

Many incredible student leaders have worked with Augsburg’s Campus Kitchen (CK) program over the years. Current CK student leaders Alana Goodson and Chouneng Khang interviewed several CK alumni to learn more about their experiences with the program. 

Yasmin ‘2015: Biology Major and Religion Minor

What sparked your interest in Campus Kitchen?

• I wanted to be a part of helping our neighbors in need. 
• I love what Campus Kitchen stands for! I admire its mission to serve the community that surrounds the campus by making healthy food accessible.

What was your role with CK?

• My role was to help build sustainability and capacity building. I recruited volunteers, organized events that educated others about food equity and provided ways people could access healthy foods.  
• I attended food deliveries at sites like Ebenezer Towers and Brian Coyle. 
• I hosted an event where I invited special speaker LaDonna Redmond, a food justice advocate to discuss issues surrounding food equity. 
• I helped with fundraising through Give to the Max for Campus Kitchen. 
• I explored different modalities for volunteers to participate in reflection so that volunteers get a chance to understand the impact of their volunteering. 
• I worked in the community garden. I coordinated with gardeners about their plots and addressed any issues that they had.  

 What were some of the highlights of your time with CK?

• I attended the Food Waste & Hunger Summit in Arkansas. I learned about different ways we can combat ending hunger and poverty. It was a fun road trip! At the end of my year of service, I also presented at the 2016 Nonprofit Leadership Conference about my experience with Campus Kitchen and Health Commons. The theme of the conference was courageous engagement across differences which fit perfectly with my experience!

• I learned leadership, communication, time management, planning & organizing, teamwork, conflict resolution, empathy, adaptability & flexibility, networking, and cultural awareness.

What are you up to now? How does it connect to CK?

• I’m attending the American University of Antigua School of Medicine. I’m currently in my 3rd year of clinical rotations in New York.  
• Working with Campus Kitchen solidified my pursuit in working in community health and focusing on serving underrepresented communities. 

Advice for current, future, past CK interns/volunteers?

• Get to know the community you’re serving by building relationships. Take time to listen to community members’ stories– their stories matter.
• Don’t be afraid to ask questions if you have any cultural or religious differences when making food and delivering food with the community members. They love having conversations with students. 

Because of the stay at home order to prevent the spread of COVID-19, student employees of the Sabo Center are writing about the work they do. This entry is from Ed Loubaki. If you would like to support Campus Kitchen’s work, feel free to donate through Augsburg’s donation page. You can designate your donation to Other>Campus Kitchen.

Hello, my name is Ed Loubaki, my pronouns are she/her/ hers. I am a first-year student and I work with the Campus Kitchen in the Sabo Center. Through Campus Kitchen, we work to provide food that is healthy and accessible. The Campus Cupboard food shelf is open every weekday, and it’s relieving for many Augsburg students that there’s a place on campus to access free food. Augsburg is quite fortunate to have Campus Kitchen because its students and surrounding comm

unity get to enjoy meals and fresh produce together. As a Campus Kitchen student employee, I love that we work to reduce food waste on campus and address food insecurity in our community. Campus Kitchen at Augsburg works hard to not only care for Augsburg, but also for the surrounding community at Ebenezer Tower Apartments, Trinity Lutheran Congregation, and the Brian Coyle Community Center.

My experience at Ebenezer Tower and the Brian Coyle Center has been beyond amazing. It did not take long to bond with community members. Every meal shift brings me joy. Each meal spices up the conversations, and sometimes it’s hard to leave. Hearing laughter here and there makes the job extra fun. At Ebenezer, I get to hear stories that soothe me and help me make better decisions in the future. These seniors are like the grandparents I never had; they make me feel like their own. Brian Coyle, on the other hand, has this energy that is incredible. You just can’t turn from it. At times, my urge to do work with Campus Kitchen increases because it doesn’t even feel like work – it feels like a great meal with friends and family. I’m looking forward to the time when we can gather again in-person to enjoy food and conversation together.