"Cafeteria to Community" program gets grant assistance

Luther College's "Cafeteria to Community" program is getting some financial help.

The Alliant Energy Foundation has awarded a $2,466 grant to the program, which will be used to will help the college purchase reusable and disposable containers, to help maintain the program and minimize waste.
 
The cafeteria to community program began in November of 2013 as a way to give unused food from the Luther College cafeteria into the hands of those in Northeast Iowa who needed food.  decorahnews.com profiled the program in March of 2014:  http://www.decorahtvnews.com/news-stories/2014/104.htmlL

Two nights a week student workers from the college's Center for Sustainable Communities coordinate groups of up to four volunteers to package the prepared food that wasn't needed on campus. Sodexo staff are strong collaborators with the program, making sure that all extra food gets saved and into the hands of the student coordinators. That food is then donated to the food pantry for distribution to people seeking food assistance in the Decorah community.

The containers purchased with the Alliant Energy Foundation grant will ensure that extra food produced on campus is distributed to the community, rather than being lost to the compost pile or landfill.