The Campus Kitchen Cookbook

THE CAMPUS KITCHEN COOKBOOK:
A BEST PRACTICE GUIDE FOR USING FOOD DONATIONS

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The Campus Kitchen Cookbook
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................................... 4
Getting Started ............................................................................................................................................ 5
FOOD RECOVERY....................................................................................................................................... 6
Where Do Donations Come From?.............................................................................................................. 6
Dining Services.......................................................................................................................................... 6
Restaurants............................................................................................................................................... 6
Grocery Stores .......................................................................................................................................... 7
Gardens..................................................................................................................................................... 7
Farms and Farmers Markets..................................................................................................................... 7
Food Banks................................................................................................................................................ 7
Other Donor Ideas .................................................................................................................................... 8
How Else Do Campus Kitchens Find Needed Items? .................................................................................. 9
Food Drives............................................................................................................................................... 9
Swaps with Partner Organizations ........................................................................................................... 9
How Do Campus Kitchens Effectively Communicate with Donors?......................................................... 10
Establishing Partnerships with Donors................................................................................................... 10
Working with Donors.............................................................................................................................. 11
Maintaining Donor Relationships........................................................................................................... 14
Resources for Donor Outreach and Resourcing Donations ................................................................... 15
On the Campus Kitchen Pantry............................................................................................................... 15
Outside Resources.................................................................................................................................. 15
What Kinds of Donations do Campus Kitchens Receive?....................................................................... 16
Prepared Foods....................................................................................................................................... 16
Raw Product............................................................................................................................................ 16
Mixed...................................................................................................................................................... 16
When Do Campus Kitchens Refuse or Accept Unusable Donations?....................................................... 17
How Do Campus Kitchens Pass on Donations? ..................................................................................... 18
Operations Timeline .................................................................................................................................. 19
Example Schedules ................................................................................................................................. 20
FOOD STORAGE....................................................................................................................................... 21
How to Store Food Donations?.................................................................................................................. 21
Freezer Storage....................................................................................................................................... 21

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Refrigerator Storage............................................................................................................................... 25
Pantry Storage ........................................................................................................................................ 25
How Do Campus Kitchens Store Tricky Food Items?................................................................................ 26
How Do Campus Kitchens Organize Food in Storage? ........................................................................... 27
How to Label Stored Food? ....................................................................................................................... 27
Timeline for Using Donations .................................................................................................................... 28
What to Use First?.................................................................................................................................. 28
What Do Date Labels on Packaged Foods Mean.................................................................................... 29
How Can a Campus Kitchen Increase Storage Capacity?....................................................................... 29
Resources for Storing Food........................................................................................................................ 29
COOKING................................................................................................................................................... 30
Meal Planning Strategies........................................................................................................................... 30
Using Recipes ............................................................................................................................................. 33
Finding Recipes .......................................................................................................................................... 35
Cooking Strategies..................................................................................................................................... 36
Cooking in Bulk ....................................................................................................................................... 36
Rescuing Dishes Gone Wrong................................................................................................................. 37
Making Dishes Healthier......................................................................................................................... 37
Strategies for Cooking with Donations ..................................................................................................... 38
Using Raw Product.................................................................................................................................. 38
Using Prepared Product.......................................................................................................................... 38
Using Mixed Donations........................................................................................................................... 38
Using Large Quantities of Certain Foods............................................................................................... 39
Using Unusual Donations...................................................................................................................... 42
Making Up for Foods that You Don’t Have............................................................................................ 46
Swap Ideas............................................................................................................................................ 47
APPENDICES ............................................................................................................................................. 52

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INTRODUCTION
This resource guide provides best practices for obtaining and using food donations in your Campus
Kitchen, as well as kitchen tips and recipes.
In the “Food Recovery” section, you’ll learn about topics including the types of food donations that
Campus Kitchens receive, where donations come from, tips for conducting donor outreach and
establishing partnerships with donors, and other ideas for obtaining food items that your Campus Kitchen
needs.
In the “Food Storage” section, you will find methods for short- and long-term storage, with tips for how to
store certain food types and how long certain items will stay good. You can also find information on
proper storage organization, according to ServSafe, and a timeline for using donations.
The “Cooking” section gives you ideas for planning a food resourcing, cooking, and delivery timeline, as
well as meal planning advice. Additionally, you will learn how to find and use already existing recipes as
well as tips on creating your own recipes. In this section, you will discover suggestions for using food
donations that you may receive in large quantities—and tips for how to make do when you don’t receive
enough of a certain food item. Finally, you will find ingredient substitution ideas, and tips for fixing dishes
that have gone wrong.

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Getting Started
Do you struggle with obtaining food donations or using some of the items you receive? This guide is here
to help!
In the “Food Recovery” section you’ll learn about donation procurement as well as how to find and work
with donors.
• Types of donations: what kinds of food items Campus Kitchens receive; common raw, prepared,
and mixed food donations.
• Types of donors: descriptions of donors the kinds of donations each is likely to provide.
• Other procurement ideas: how to organize food drives, swaps with partner organizations, and
other food resourcing strategies.
• Communicating with donors: ways to establish partnerships with donors, work with donors, and
maintain strong donor relationships.
In the “Food Storage” section you’ll find methods for short- and long-term storage, along with information
on proper storage organization and a timeline for using donations.
• Best practices for storing food: what foods do and do not freeze well, how to prepare food for
freezing and how to thaw frozen food; what foods to store in the refrigerator; what foods to keep
in the pantry.
• Where to store tricky food items: tips for handling notoriously difficult foods.
• Timeline for storing and using food: first-in first-out storage method, approximate length that food
will stay good, decoding date labels.
In the “Cooking” section you’ll discover ideas for scheduling shifts, planning meals, using recipes, working
with excessive or strange donations, substituting ingredients, and pairing flavors.
• Timeline for planning resourcing, cooking, and delivery shifts: example schedules and ideas to
organize shifts.
• Meal planning strategies: how to plan meals while considering available ingredients, nutrition,
seasonality, and client taste preferences.
• Best practices for making meals using raw, prepared, and mixed donations: make the most out of
the donations you receive while adhering to ServSafe and HACCP guidelines.
• How to use recipes: ways to adapt, follow, and create your own recipes, based on the experience
level of your team.
• Tips for cooking in bulk with commercial equipment: scale recipes and become familiar with using
commercial equipment.
• What to do with large quantities of certain foods: recipe ideas for using up food items you may
frequently receive.
• What to do with strange donations: ideas for incorporating uncommon donated items into your
meals.
• Substitution ideas for recipes: a list of ways to make up for missing ingredients, including an
ingredient swap chart.
• Resources for finding recipes
• Accompanying cookbook of recipes

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FOOD RECOVERY
Where Do Donations Come From?
Finding consistent, reliable donors is a first step to developing a smoothly functioning Campus Kitchen.
Campus Kitchens work with a wide variety of food donors, from campus Dining Services to local farms and
restaurants. Different types of donors are more likely to donate certain types of food.
Dining Services
Dining Services is an excellent source for prepared food. Leftover trays or dishes of food that never went
out on the line can be recovered for Campus Kitchen use. You might receive hotel pans of leftovers from
dining, but you could also receive extra raw produce donations. If you need extra spices, oil, flour, or other
pantry staples, you can ask if Dining Services will lend you a small amount. Right before holiday breaks,
they might have a wider array of products to donate as well. Students may be gone for breaks by the time
kitchens are closing, but if a kitchen coordinator can do a pick up, there’s usually a lot of food that Dining
Halls are getting rid of. Your campus may also have multiple dining contracts—for example, the dining
halls may be managed by one vendor and the sports arenas may be managed by another. Consider
reaching out to both.
Restaurants
Working with off-campus donors like restaurants will give your
Campus Kitchen a more diverse pool of food donations. Caterers
can be great partners for donations as well, sometimes providing
larger volumes of prepared food than restaurants can supply. Try
looking for restaurants with menus that seem likely to yield
excess food that you are particularly looking for (sandwiches,
staples like rice or pasta, cooked proteins, vegetables).
These restaurant chains donate to Campus Kitchens:
• Chipotle
• Subway
• Jimmy John’s
• Texas Road House
• Starbucks
• Red Lobster (California Pizza Kitchen owned by the
same group)
CASE STUDY
The Campus Kitchen at Baylor
University receives bread and
pastries from Panera. Minnesota
State University receives donations
from Chipotle, Dickey's BBQ, Red
Lobster, Tandem Bagel, and Olive
Garden.
CASE STUDY
The Campus Kitchen at UMASS
Boston, for example, has a
partnership with a local Whole Foods,
which donates pantry and snack
items. The Campus Kitchen at Lindsey
Wilson College receives lots of bread
from their local IGA.

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Grocery Stores
Grocery stores are great for raw product donations. They will often donate pantry staples like bread and
spices, snack items such as chips and fruit, frozen pastries, and baking ingredients like baking mixes,
spices, flours, and sugars. Some grocery stores also will freeze and donate meat from their meat
department. Grab and Go items are also becoming more popular items for grocery stores to donate.
These grocery chains donate to Campus Kitchens:
• Trader Joe’s
• Walmart
• Kroger (subsidiaries include Harris Teeter, Ralphs, King Soopers, Fred Meyer, QFC)
• Food Lion (Hannaford owned by the same group)
• Mom’s Organic Markets
• Publix
• Whole Foods
• Giant
Gardens
Many schools have on-campus gardens—and some Campus Kitchens even have their own gardens. Fresh
fruits and vegetables grown right on campus can be used to prepare nutritious meals!
Farms and Farmers Markets
In addition to on-campus farms and gardens, private farms, community gardens, and farmers’ markets can
be great sources of extra produce. Many farmers are forced to waste quality food because it doesn’t
conform to market requirements for size or appearance, and community gardens and markets often share
the goals of ending food waste and hunger, so these are great partnerships to consider. At the end of a
market, farmers often don’t want to take unsold produce back with them. Students can also organize
gleaning trips to recover produce from farms. It is typically best to reach out to a Market Organizer first to
see if they have a gleaning partner. It is also a great idea to talk directly with farmers about products that
they may not be bringing to markets and see if you could buy these products at low cost.
Food Banks
Ask local food banks if your Campus Kitchen can apply to be a “member agency” in order to “shop” for dry
goods, produce, and frozen food at extremely low rates. This could be a tremendous resource for your
Campus Kitchen, especially when it comes to obtaining staple items. Find out the process for becoming a
member agency, if USDA commodities are also available, and what kind of food donations you might be
able to accept. This is also a great opportunity to bring up the existing emergency food system in your
community and discuss how your Campus Kitchen could address unmet needs. Remember that most food
banks require proof of non-profit status to become a partner and receive food. Talk with you school to see
if you can use the 501c3 number for this.
Use www.feedingamerica.org to find your local Feeding America chapter, and reach out to discuss
potential partnerships.

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CASE STUDY
The Campus Kitchen at UMass Boston has
worked with the Federal Reserve Bank in
Boston, whose food service is managed by
Sodexo and the Campus Kitchen at Saint
Peter’s University recovered from
Goldman Sachs headquarters.
Other Donor Ideas:
• Consider reaching out to on- and off-campus catering, delis
and sandwich shops, hospitals, etc.
• Consider partnering with other organizations to accept a
large donation together and then divide it up.
• Contact Fraternities and Sororities on campus.
• Wholesalers often have extra product—you may need
capacity to accept a larger quantity of food, but can be a
great way to source a larger volume of produce.
• Consider partnering with other organizations to accept a
large donation together and then divide it up.
• Work with food hubs (aggregators of produce from various farmers). See this resource from the
National Good Food Network: http://www.ngfn.org/resources/food-hubs#section-10.
• Manufacturers may have food to donate based on minor issues like labeling errors. Try looking for
dry goods manufacturers and food packaging and processing businesses in your area.
• Reach out to off-campus corporate food services, such as hotels, convention centers, sports
stadium concession stands, government buildings, secondary school food contractors.
CASE STUDY
The Campus Kitchen at
Kent State University
received a large volume of
alfredo sauce from a
wholesaler that produces
sauces.

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CASE STUDY
The Campus Kitchen at Atlantic City conducts
food drives by department. They rotate to
different departments when different items are
needed.
CASE STUDY
CKSIUE frequently organizes food drives, and
therefore gets lots of canned food. One of their
partner organizations, however, receives lots of
produce as donations. In order for each
organization to get what they need, they have
set up a one-to-one trade system of canned
goods for produce.
How Else Do Campus Kitchens Find Needed Items?
Campus Kitchens may find themselves constantly lacking certain food items. There are many effective
outreach strategies to ask for and find these needed items beyond forging traditional donor partnerships.
Food Drives
Organize food drives that target specific food items that Campus Kitchens need. You could have a
competition between dorms or campus departments for different items. For example, you could ask one
dorm for flour, one for oil, and another for sugar.
Swaps with Partner Organizations
Consider working with another partner organization to share and divide food donations, depending on
each organization’s needs.

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How Do Campus Kitchens Effectively Communicate with Donors?
Establishing Partnerships with Donors
Here are some first steps in looking for new food donors:
1. Decide where to reach out. Make a list of restaurants, grocery stores, food banks, and farms or gardens
in your area. Sending letters to any and all potential partners is a good way to start.
2. Find an appropriate contact. In general, look for contact information for the manager or community
liaison. Some national chains may have pages on their websites with specific instructions for donation
requests; follow these instructions while also looking for contact information for the person who handles
these requests so you know who to follow up with. If anyone at your school has a contact with a business,
you may want to go through them—ask if your school’s contact at the business can forward your letter to
the manager or other relevant contact.
3. Prepare an introductory letter. If you know that the business or your contact there is interested in a
particular aspect of The Campus Kitchens Project’s mission—like food waste, hunger, student leadership,
or fighting the root causes of hunger and poverty. Be sure to emphasize how their donation will help you
to address that issue. Include your school’s 501(c)(3) number in the letter as well. Talk with your
sponsoring office or administration to get permission to use the school’s Employer Identification Number
(EIN). You can find templates for reaching out to potential restaurant and grocery store donors on the
Campus Kitchen Pantry.
4. Follow up. If you don’t receive a response after a week or two, call to check that they received your
letter and ask to set up a meeting. If you have trouble reaching anyone by phone, try bringing your initial
letter to drop off in person. Persistence is key! Your goal should be to set up a meeting with someone who
has the authority to discuss a potential partnership and the knowledge to go over donation logistics.
5. Set up an initial meeting. An in-person meeting is your opportunity to explain The Campus Kitchens
Project and your Campus Kitchen’s operations in more detail. Prepare by researching the potential donor’s
history, mission, and community connections; try to determine their primary interests in a potential
partnership, and prepare to present additional data or discuss those issues in more detail. (Can you give
examples of consumer interest in sustainability or community involvement in your area? Statistics about
the impact of Campus Kitchens on student leadership development? Stories about improved relationships
between your school and the local community?) Typically, donors’ number one concern is food safety, so
be prepared to talk about the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Act (which frees donors from liability for any
apparently wholesome food donated in good faith) and emphasize that shift leaders are ServSafe certified.
Many States are also developing their own liability laws, refer to ReFED's U.S. Food Waste Policy Finder for
a good listing of all state laws. You can also discuss how the donated food will be used to prepare
nutritious meals, thus boosting the health of community members.

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Working with Donors
From the beginning of a donor partnership, make sure that you communicate clearly and openly.
• A first step is to exchange basic data such as key contact names, phone numbers, emails/fax
numbers, and emergency and/or after-hours contact numbers or protocol.
• Establish a plan for communication: who to contact; when/how often and whether via email,
phone, or in person; discuss how any issues will be addressed.
• Establish basic donation arrangements: anticipated frequency of donations, typical donations to
expect (and clarify what you can and cannot accept), and appropriate times/exact locations (which
door/loading dock) for pickups. A consistent donation schedule is ideal, but be open to establishing
a system for more sporadic pickups if that is what donors can offer.
• It is important to show up at the exact time you say you will show up for a pick up. Give a range of
time that you will be there and be consistent. If you must miss a day, make sure to give advance
notice. Consistency can make or break a donor relationship. Donors will often find someone more
reliable to donate to if you miss a pickup or are late.
• Make sure the donor understands your safety procedures: equipment used for temperature
holding, time between donor location and food holding location, who is trained in HACCP, basic
overview safe food handling protocol in the kitchen. It’s also very important to understand how the
donor is storing food, especially for prepared foods that you receive hot or that the donor has
cooled. The “Instructions for Food Donors” document on the Campus Kitchen Pantry is helpful as a
resource to distribute to donors.
• It takes donors extra time to set aside and label donations, so be mindful and appreciative of the
work they are doing for you!
Working with Dining Services:
• At the beginning of each semester, ask your dining director if you can come to an all-staff meeting
to remind the staff about how your Campus Kitchen works and answer any questions. Arrange an
opportunity for recovery shift volunteers to meet the staff who pull food for donation (if your
recovery shift comes during a different dining staff shift). It is sometimes not enough to just have a
relationship with the dining director, who may not always be in the kitchen during pick up. Try to
get to know the manager or chef on duty during your recovery shifts.
• Make sure you know the dining hall’s safety policies—for example, in addition to hairnets and
gloves, some dining halls require that volunteers wear no-slip shoe covers.
• Keep up to date on the dining hall management. Turnover rate for staff in dining halls can be high,
especially in terms of management. Be mindful to introduce yourself and explain what you’re doing
each time a new manager comes in. Coordinate communication and pick up plans with every new
manager, as each manager may run their kitchen differently.
• Building relationships between specific volunteers and dining staff is a great way to ensure that
staff know who to call with any questions and show them the impact of the extra steps they take to
pull excess food.
• Invite dining staff to volunteer—not just in the kitchen but on delivery shifts or with one of your
community programs where they can see the impact that their donations are having in the
community. They may also help out in your cooking shifts by teaching knife skills or sharing recipes.

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• Look for opportunities to show your appreciation of dining staff—send cards during the holidays or
at the end of the semester, post a message in an all-campus publication, work with your school’s
HR department to recognize particular staff, etc.
• Set a schedule with dining so they know when to expect you. For example, arrange to pick up at
2pm every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. If you set your pick up time right as the meal service is
ending, you may be able to get excess from each cafeteria as they’re wrapping up, in addition to
whatever they’ve saved.
• Keep a good relationship with dining hall staff of the kitchen you're working in. They can be
valuable resources for your Campus Kitchen if you foster a good connection. Here are a few ideas:
o Make sure that the spaces you use are cleaned up properly.
o Keep up to date on their requests.
o Be a respectful presence.
o Be open with the dining services and kitchen staff.
Working with Restaurants:
Building off-campus partnerships can be a bit different than working with dining, but a professional
approach combined with a few key arguments can be very convincing when recruiting restaurant donors.
• Ease—restaurant employees can simply place excess food in an established part of the refrigerator
or pantry instead of throwing it away, and your Campus Kitchen can provide a regularly scheduled
pickup time and records of each donation. Campus Kitchens can use even small amounts of nearly-
expired food that other organizations (like food banks) may not be able to accept.
• Economics—not only can businesses save on waste disposal costs, they can also receive tax
deductions for donating surplus food. Restaurants can also attract new customers by advertising
their commitment to waste reduction and fighting hunger in the community. F-2 forms, found on
the Campus Kitchen Pantry, can be used as a receipt if needed by the donor and receiver of food.
See http://www.foodtodonate.com/Fdcmain/TaxBenefits.aspx for more information on
deductions. Restaurants interested in calculating their potential cost savings from reducing food
waste can use the EPA’s Food Waste Management Calculator.
• Environmental impact—food rotting in landfills generates methane gas, a greenhouse gas which is
21 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Wasting food wastes the water, land, and oil used to
grow, process, and distribute food. The EPA’s Food Recovery Hierarchy puts “feed hungry people”
as the second-best option after source reduction—significantly above composting. Reducing food
waste is an important way to contribute to local zero-waste goals, and may be publicized by city
officials or media.
• Employee morale—employees are often more aware of how much food is wasted than managers
and owners, and are happy to know that excess food is going to feed people in need. Improved
morale can result in increased productivity and better customer service.
• Safety—food recovery volunteers are trained in safe food handling and donors are free from
liability for any apparently wholesome food donated in good faith. Provide a copy of the Bill
Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act and FAQs.

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Working with Grocery Stores:
Grocery stores may be interested in donating for some of the same reasons as restaurants; however, since
grocery stores are more likely establish relationships with food banks it is important to contact new stores
as soon as possible to find out how your Campus Kitchen can fit into their donation partnership goals.
Some grocery stores may want you to take all of their donations, whereas others may be flexible in
allowing multiple partner organizations to pick up food donations.
• Be clear about what items you can and cannot accept (can accept foods past sell-by dates, dented
cans, and small quantities of food; can’t always use desserts or salads with under-cooked eggs,
some protein salads, and open containers of food).
• Discuss the best way for items to be stored and collected and consider supplying bins for stores to
keep food to be donated separated.
• Ask for regular discounts on food you have to purchase in exchange for including them as
“Sponsors” of your Campus Kitchen.
• Host a food drive—create a “grocery list” and have a team of students standing at the door asking
shoppers to pick up one thing on the list while they’re shopping. The store will benefit from more
sales, while customers appreciate being able to donate food rather than cash. Try to work with
managers to schedule regular food drives throughout the year.
• Ask stores to donate portion of their revenue for a day or week. Whole Foods Market has
partnered with Campus Kitchens for some of their “5% Days.”
• Many stores, like Costco, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and BJ’s Wholesale, donate additional food
around the holiday, but only if you apply in advance.
• If you are planning to make grocery bags for clients to take home, grocery stores are often willing
to donate paper bags.

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Maintaining Donor Relationships
When working with any type of food donor, maintaining a strong relationship is just as important as
establishing an initial partnership. Maintaining a good relationship with a donor will make obtaining
donations much easier. With an open donor relationship, it will also be more comfortable to communicate
best practices of holding good donations and adhering to HACCP. When working with donors, you have to
be consistent with them so they are consistent with you. Be communicative, kind, and prompt. And above
all, be respectful!
• Regularly update contact information for your Campus Kitchen, and check in to make sure you
have the most current contact information for your partners.
• Be clear about your expectations for communication (frequency and mode), and follow through on
your commitments to communicate with them.
• Plan ahead to maintain recovery over shorter breaks and communicate well in advance about
longer breaks if you will be unable to maintain recoveries. Suspending recovery over summer
breaks can lead donors, especially grocery stores, to look for other partners, so try working with
local students or community members to continue recovery even if your cooking shifts and
deliveries aren’t as regular over the summer.
• Show your appreciation both directly (send cards and thank-you letters) and indirectly (mention
them on social media, highlight their contributions in any publicity or annual reports, etc.)
• Develop relationships with your contacts—try to spend some time with the people who facilitate
the partnership so that they can get to know you better and you can learn more about their
operations. Invite them to attend Campus Kitchen events or participate in your Advisory Board.
• Make sure to provide receipts for donations. You can use the F-2 forms found on the Campus
Kitchen Pantry.
• Regularly check in or survey them about the partnership. Questions to ask: Are pickup times and
methods working? Are they satisfied with the relationship overall, with your response to problems,
with your reliability and with the convenience of donating? Is there anything you could do to
improve their donation experience?

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Resources for Donor Outreach and Resourcing Donations:
On the Campus Kitchen Pantry
1. Guide to Finding New Food Donors: detailed information on finding and connecting with donors.
2. Restaurant Donation Letter Template
3. Store Donation Letter Template
Outside Resources
1. Ample Harvest: a site that connects farms to food pantries.
2. MEANS database: A Campus Kitchen partner that offers an online tool to match excess food with
those in need. An online tool that matches excess food with those in need.
3. National Good Food Network: an organization that brings players from all parts of the food system,
to create a community that works to increasing good food sourcing and access. This is a good
resource for locating food hubs.
4. Let’s Glean! United We Serve Toolkit: a USDA guide to starting a gleaning program.
5. YouGiveGoods: a platform to help create, promote, and manage your own food drives.
6. Food Donation Connection: An organization that manages food donation programs for food service
companies interested in donating food. You can work with their national network of restaurant
donors.
7. Find farms in your area by contacting your state USDA office:
http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/stateOffices?area=stoffice&subject=landing&topic=landing
8. The Society of St. Andrew: An organization that coordinates volunteers to glean from local farms
and deliver to anti-hunger agencies: http://www.endhunger.org/Agencies/
9. Look for other local gleaning organizations that can coordinate volunteers to harvest produce to
donate to your Campus Kitchen, or help to connect you with local farmers.
10. Find farmers markets in your area: http://search.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/
11. ReFED U.S. Food Waste Policy Finder—an online search tool for exploring food waste prevention,
recovery, and recycling policies by state: http://www.refed.com/tools/food-waste-policy-
finder/?mc_cid=6e2c0369f2&mc_eid=7ba98f27cd

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What Kinds of Donations do Campus Kitchens Receive?
Different Campus Kitchens operate in different ways, depending on where their food comes from and
what type of donations they receive. Your Campus Kitchen might receive donations of only prepared food,
only raw product, or a mix of both.
Prepared Foods
Some Campus Kitchens receive solely prepared food as donations. This includes cooked meats, cooked
produce, baked goods and bread, and prepared starches. Prepared donations are often received as pans
of leftovers from campus dining halls. They also may include prepared dishes from restaurants that were
never served.
Raw Product
Campus Kitchens may also receive raw product as donations. Raw product might consist of pantry staples
like bags of dried grains or legumes, flour, sugar, pastas, and spices; as well as produce or meat that’s
reached it “best by” date donated from grocery stores; the harvest from an on-campus garden; or pallets
of produce gleaned from a local farm. Other types of raw product donations include canned goods and
dairy products.
Mixed
Some Campus Kitchens receive a mix of both raw and prepared food donations. This means that they have
diversified donation partners. This also means that they must take into account when and how to
integrate cooked and raw product in accordance with ServSafe guidelines while preparing their meals.

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CASE STUDY
On produce pick up days, the Campus Kitchen at UMASS Boston
(CKUMB) must choose foods that will last in the refrigerator until
the next cooking shift (which may be up to 3 days later). CKUMB
also often chooses not to accept lettuce and spinach, because they
wilt too quickly; dairy products such as milk or yogurt, because age
is unknown; pre-cut vegetables like ready-to-eat celery and carrots,
or zoodles/spaghetti vegetables, because the shelf life of these pre-
cut, prepared vegetables are significantly reduced.
CASE STUDY
The Campus Kitchen at Northwestern University (CKNU) sometimes
takes products they know they can’t use—things like uncooked
meat that they don’t have the resources to prepare; bags of
prepared salads and soggy sandwiches or wraps from the dining
halls. They will accept these donations and sort through them in
their pantry, composting what they can’t use. One exception to this
is with catering events. Sometimes Northwestern University will
hold large events and over-order for food. If they call CKNU to pick
up after the event, they usually decline anything prepared since at
that point it's been sitting out for hours.
When Do Campus Kitchens Refuse or Accept Unusable Donations?
You might have a donor offer a product that you cannot use in your kitchen. This means that you will have to decide
if you will refuse the donation, of if you will accept a donation even if you have to discard it. It is important to take
into consideration your kitchen’s available storage space and to think forward to the timing of your next cooking
shift.
You also want to think about how refusing donations may affect your partnership with a donor. Depending
on the relationship, it may be a more strategic move to take everything that sources are willing to donate,
rather than potentially damage a partnership or have them think twice about calling you next time they
have food.

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CASE STUDY
The Campus Kitchen at UMASS
Boston sends their excess food to
St. Peter’s Catholic Church,
because they have a fully
operational kitchen.
How Do Campus Kitchens Pass on Donations?
If you know that your food will go bad before you can use it, or if
you receive a donation of a very large quantity, consider passing
them on to partner organizations. Reach out to local food
pantries or churches to see if they could use the food.
Another idea to consider is to send home excess food with kids at
Beyond the Meal programs, in the form of a take home grocery
bag or snack.

19
CASE STUDY
The Campus Kitchen at Elon University, as an example, harvests
food from their garden on Sundays. On Monday, they plan their
meal and will buy any additional food necessary from the
grocery stores. They will cook their meals Tuesday night, and
then store them overnight. Delivery happens Wednesday
morning so that the meals are dropped off in time to be served
at lunch.
Operations Timeline
Different schools have different timelines for conducting their recovery, cooking, and delivery shifts. This
timeline will be determined by when and how often your Campus Kitchen receives its donations, when
volunteers are available to help out at shifts, and when the leadership team is available to run shifts.
Storage is also a determining factor in deciding timelines. If a school does not have adequate refrigerator,
freezer, or pantry space to stock up, they need to clear food out as soon as possible by cooking and
delivering it immediately, or passing it on to partner organizations. Some Campus Kitchens will recover,
cook, and deliver all on the same day and repeat this process multiple days a week, while some spread the
shifts out over the week.
Other schools recover, cook, and then freeze meals for future delivery. Freezing meals ahead is a great
goal to work toward. This lets you better manage a consistent flow of meals – if you don’t get enough of a
food group one week you’ll have extra in the freezer, or if your whole team is going to be away for Spring
Break you can drop off an extra frozen meal ahead of time.
One idea is to add an advance produce processing shift after your recovery shift—this could include
preparing and freezing produce, for example. One model timeline would be to recover food on Sunday,
then add a shift Monday for processing, and cook on Tuesday. By saving the food you recover, you have
much more time to plan your menu for the next week, knowing what you have already stored from last
week.
Whatever shift schedule you choose, it is imperative that you are handling your donations in a way that
maintains proper food temperature and adheres to food safety steps at each stage of the process. Refer to
the “Cooking Shift Flowchart” to make sure that you operations schedule is efficient and safe.

20
Example Schedules:
Recovery and cooking one day followed by delivery the next day, three times a week:
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
-Recovery
-Cooking
-Delivery -Recovery
-Cooking
-Delivery -Recovery
-Cooking
-Delivery
One recovery harvest per week:
-Meal
Planning &
Additional
Food
Purchasing
-Cooking -Delivery -Harvest
Multiple deliveries from one cooking shift:
-Recovery
-Cooking
-Packing
-Delivery
-Delivery -Cooking
-Packing
-Delivery
-Delivery -Recovery
-Cooking
-Packing
With an advanced preparation/freezing shift:
-Recovery
-Cooking &
Freezing
-Thawing -Delivery

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FOOD STORAGE
After recovering donations, it is important to properly store each food item. Knowing how, for how long,
and where to store food will increase the quality of your meals as well as limit the spoilage or rotting of
food in your kitchen.i
First, make sure that all of the donations you receive are safe and usable. For more information about this,
see “Food Donation Guidelines,” on the Campus Kitchen Pantry. A note on cooling: Follow HACCP
guidelines to properly cool any hot food donations. This means cooling foods to 70° within 2 hours, and
then to 40° or below within 4 more hours.
Next, make sure to always follow ServSafe guidelines for storing food in properly designated storage areas
separate from non-food goods, as well as away from walls and at least six inches off the floor.ii
Additionally, always make sure food is stored in appropriate containers or wrapped well.iii
It is worth noting that, based on ServSafe guidelines, you can store unfrozen prepared foods for a max of 7
days (so if a kitchen was cooking from scratch they have 7 days to use it). Try to ask donors to find out the
preparation date for each food item. If it is unknown, err on the side of caution for storage time.
How to Store Food Donations?
Freezer Storage
The freezer is used for long-term storage. As per USDA guidelines, most food items can be safely frozen for
later use, as long as they are prepped and defrosted in the proper manner.iv
What Can You Freeze, and How?
Meat, poultry, and fish freeze very well. The USDA recommends that already thawed meat be cooked if
you plan on refreezing it—raw thawed meat cannot go back into the freezer once it has come to room
temperature. Raw meat and poultry maintain quality longer than cooked meat or poultry when frozen.v
Baked goods, tortillas, bread, batters, and doughs also freeze very well. Cooked pasta can freeze, but it is
best if cooked to al dente because you can then boil it again for a few minutes once out of the freezer. The
same goes for rice. Broths, soups, and sauces may be frozen, as well as full prepared meals.vi
Sturdy vegetables like squash and sweet potatoes can be cut and frozen on sheet pans.
You can freeze milk, just be sure to note how far away from the expiration date when you froze it.
What Does Not Freeze Well?
Certain foods should not be frozen because their quality will deteriorate once thawed. For many foods,
this is not a huge issue as long as you are not concerned with appearance or are not planning on serving
them raw. A raw tomato, for example, will not be good if eaten raw when defrosted, but it will be fine if
used to cook something like a sauce or soup. Spinach is fine frozen if you’re planning on putting it into a
soup, but not if you want to use it for a salad. Same with fruits—a raw thawed apple will not taste great on

22
CASE STUDY
CKNU freezes diced apples or
pears that have been seasoned
with brown sugar, cinnamon
and nutmeg. After thawing this
can be baked for a pie filling or
with a simple crumble topping.
Case Study
The Campus Kitchen at Northwestern
University freezes prepped sturdy
vegetables on half sheet pans and, when
ready to serve, thaws them on the pans
overnight in the fridge. Sometimes they
also give frozen pans of food to client
agencies—for the agencies to cook
themselves—in order to speed up delivery.
its own, but it would be perfectly fine cooked into applesauce. A list of foods that do not freeze well
include:
Fruits and vegetables
Produce with high water content like salad greens, cucumbers,
bean sprouts, radishes, watermelon, citrus, and grapes do not
freeze well because they will become limp when thawed.vii
Harder fruits like apples and pears can be frozen if you plan on
cooking them after thawing.
Dairy
Sour cream, yogurt, cheese (especially soft varieties), cottage cheese, cream cheese, eggs in their shells.viii
• Note: You can freeze eggs if you take them out of their shells. Lightly beat eggs and freeze them in
an airtight container. Egg whites can be frozen by themselves. You can freeze yolks alone if you mix
in 1 teaspoon of salt per 1 pint of yolk.ix
• Note: Hard cheese will crumble if frozen, but if cut into cubes or sliced before freezing, this is less
likely to happen.
Herbs
Alone on their sprigs.
• Note: Herbs do freeze well if chopped up and placed in ice cube trays or small containers with a
little bit of water or oil.
Other
Crumb toppings (for casseroles), frostings, fried foods, egg-based sauces like mayonnaise.x
How to Thaw Frozen Foods?
According to ServSafe, there are a few different ways to safely thaw frozen food. You can thaw food in a
refrigerator or walk-in cooler at a temperature of 41 degrees or below. It is worth noting that food can be
kept for up to 7 days past its preparation date.xi This is important to keep in mind when thawing food,
because you will need to be aware of how long the product was kept around before being frozen. This is
usually the safest option but can take a long time and the thawing time does count towards the 7 days.
Additionally, the 7-day rule doesn’t restart after thawing—so if you had something in the fridge for two
days then froze it, you only have one day to reheat and/or serve the product. Keep this in mind when
freezing (it is usually best to freeze things as soon as possible if you aren’t sure when or if you will be able
to use them).
You can thaw food in a microwave if the food item will be
cooked immediately after thawing.xii A steamer is another
great option for reheating food, if you have one.xiii
Additionally, food can be submerged under running,
drinkable water that is below 70 degrees. Finally, food may
be thawed as part of the cooking process, in the oven or on
the stovetop. It is not safe to leave frozen food out on the
counter to thaw.xiv See “Reheating Tips” for other ideas.

23
Case Study
The Campus Kitchen at Troy
University has a vacuum sealer
to package food before freezing.
This might be a good investment
if your Campus Kitchen tends to
freeze lots of food.
Freezer Storage Tips:
According to the USDA, food that is stored constantly at 0 degrees will stay safe indefinitely—only quality
will suffer overtime. However, the only way it is truly possible to keep a constant enough temperature to
keep things safe indefinitely is with a walk in freezer, which many kitchens do not have access to.
Therefore, the CKP rule is that foods can be stored for three months.
The following table indicates how long different food items will stay at peak quality while frozen,
according to the USDA.xv’
Here are a few tips to maximize the freshness of frozen food:
• Keep food airtight.
Try to pack food tightly to reduce the air that is
inside the container. Storing food in plastic
containers or Ziploc bags will help prevent freezer
burn and ensure the food stays safe to eat.
Tempered glass, plastic, and heavily-waxed
cardboard are good for storing liquids. Wrap thin
plastic packages with plastic wrap or another plastic
bag.xvi
• Always wash produce before freezing it.xvii
• If food does get freezer burn, it is not harmful. Scrape off the part with freezer burn, and your food
will be fine to use.xviii
• Leave room in containers for liquids to expand.xix
• Think about storing food in portioned amounts so you don’t have to thaw more than you need.xx
Item Months
Bacon and Sausage 1 to 2
Casseroles 2 to 3
Egg whites or egg substitutes 12
Frozen Dinners and Entrees 3 to 4
Gravy, meat or poultry 2 to 3
Ham, Hotdogs and Lunchmeats 1 to 2
Meat, uncooked roasts 4 to 12
Meat, uncooked steaks or chops 4 to 12
Meat, uncooked ground 3 to 4
Meat, cooked 2 to 3
Poultry, uncooked whole 12
Poultry, uncooked parts 9
Poultry, uncooked giblets 3 to 4
Poultry, cooked 4
Soups and Stews 2 to 3

24
• Consider blanching fruits and vegetables before freezing them, if you plan on leaving them in the
freezer for a long time.
o Blanching, or boiling a food for a very short time and then shocking it in cold water,
preserve quality, color, and vitamin content.xxi “Home Freezing of Fruits and Vegetables,” a
guide written by the University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension in Lancaster County, has
many useful tips on how to prepare specific fruits and vegetables for freezing.

25
Refrigerator Storage
The refrigerator, or walk-in cooler, is a good place for short-term storage of food such as produce, meat,
and dairy. The refrigerator can also be used to prolong the life of foods like sauces and condiments, flours,
oils, nuts or nut butters.xxii
Product Uncooked Cooked, Packaged Cooked,
Unpackaged
Possible to
Freeze Raw?
Poultry 1-2 days 3-4 days 3-4 days Yes
Beef, Pork, Lamb 3-5 days Hot dogs, lunch
meats: 2 weeks
3-5 days Yes
Sausage 1-2 days 3-4 days 3-4 days Yes
Lunch meat 2 weeks 1 week Yes
Hot dogs 2 weeks 1 week Yes
Eggs 3-5 weeks Hardboiled: 1 week 3-4 days Yes, not in
shells
Bell peppers 1-2 weeks N/A 3-5 days Yes
Broccoli 3-5 days N/A 3-5 days Blanch first
Carrots 3-4 weeks N/A 3-5 days Slice and
blanch first
Corn 1-2 days N/A 3-5 days Yes
Dark greens 5-7 days N/A 3-5 days No
Salad greens 3-5 days N/A 3-5 days No
Cut vegetables 1-2 days N/A 3-5 days Yes
Tomatoes 1-5 days N/A 3-5 days Yes; mushy
when
thawed
Potatoes 1-2 weeks N/A 3-5 days No
Summer
squash/zucchini
4-5 days N/A 3-5 days Slice and
blanch first
Winter squash 1-2 months N/A 3-5 days No
Cut fruit 5-7 days N/A N/A No
Pantry Storage
Pantry storage is for food staples like unopened canned or jarred foods, dried beans and grains, flours,
sugars, baking mixes, cereals, pasta, seasonings, vinegars, oils, unopened nut butters, and unopened
condiments.xxiii Crackers and chips can also be stored on the shelf, however, once opened they will start to
get stale. If it will be used soon, bread stores better on the shelf than in the fridge.xxiv ServSafe
recommends storing food in original containers or in other durable, leak proof containers intended for
food that are able to be sealed or covered tightly.xxv Store food products separately from non-food items.
Aside from dry pantry staples, food items including potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, ginger, garlic,
apples, most root vegetables, and winter squash and garlic store best in cool, dry places.xxvi

26
How Do Campus Kitchens Store Tricky Food Items?
Here are some storage tips for some food items that are notoriously hard for Campus Kitchens to store.
Hopefully these strategies will help to increase the lifespan of these products in your kitchen.
Bananas:
Bananas will turn brown quickly if placed in the refrigerator, but they attract fruit flies if left at room
temperature. Save The Food recommends removing any plastic wrapping and storing them at room
temperature away from other fruit. Once bananas are ripe, you can put them in the fridge. Even if the skin
turns brown, the banana will still be usable for several days. You can freeze bananas with or without a
peel, but it is difficult to remove the peel from frozen bananas. Place them in an airtight container to
freeze.xxvii
Potatoes:
Potatoes can turn green or start sprouting if left unused for too long. Cut out any green spots before using.
If a potato starts sprouting (otherwise known as growing eyes) they still may be usable. Remove the
shoots from the potato and use the rest., if it’s not wrinkly or soft.xxviii Save the Food recommends keeping
potatoes away from sunlight in a dark, dry location in a mesh, paper, burlap or perforated plastic bag.
Freezing potatoes is not recommended, but if you need, you can cook the potatoes, mash them with white
vinegar, and store them in an airtight container in the freezer.xxix
Eggs:
Eggs can be hard to store, and the dates marked on their cartons often cause confusion. According to the
USDA, the best way to store eggs in the refrigerator is in the carton, placed in the coldest part of the
refrigerator.xxx Refrigerated raw eggs will keep for 4-5 weeks beyond the “sell by” dates marked on the
carton.xxxi To discern if an egg has gone bad, the USDA recommends cracking it into a bowl to see if it has a
foul odor or strange appearance before using. Spoiled eggs—cooked or raw—will have an odor when
broken open.xxxii
Dairy:
Wrapping cheese tightly in plastic creates trapped moisture, which fosters the growth of mold and
bacteria. Cheeses are thus best stored if wrapped loosely in wax or parchment paper. Save the Food notes
that once there is visible mold on soft cheese, you can no longer use it and should throw it away.xxxiii This
applies to other soft dairy products like sour cream, cream cheese, cottage cheese, or yogurt. You also
cannot use moldy shredded cheese. If you see mold on a block of hard cheese though, Save the Food
indicates that is safe to cut out the moldy part, along with an inch of cheese surrounding the mold, and
use the rest of the block.xxxiv You know that milk has spoiled when it has a sour smell. xxxv

27
CASE STUDY
To keep things simple, CKNU’s freezer
labels include item description, date in
freezer, and a marked “use by” date as
three months later. For example:
Name: Brown Rice
Frozen On: 1/25/17
Use By: 4/25/17
TIP: Reviving Food
If you notice that stored food is no
longer at its peak, there are a few tricks
you can use to revive it. Soaking wilted
vegetables in ice water for 5-10 minutes
is often all it takes to restore them. Toast
stale bread or bagels at 140 degrees to
crisp them again.
How Do Campus Kitchens Organize Food in Storage?
The way that food is arranged in the dry pantry, in the refrigerator, and in the freezer is important in
reducing safety risk. ServSafe recommends storing raw meat, poultry, and seafood separately from
prepared food in the refrigerator. If this is not possible, store prepared food above raw meat, poultry, and
seafood. Frozen food that is thawing in a refrigerator must also be stored below any prepared foods.xxxvi
Consult your ServSafe guidelines for more specific refrigerator storage instructions.
How to Label Stored Food?
To keep track of items in your kitchen, establish a clear labeling system for each item in the fridge, freezer,
or pantry shelf. According to ServSafe guidelines, all items that are not in their original containers must be
labeled by with a common name or statement that clearly identifies the item.xxxvii Additionally, you should
mark a date on the label—either the date of storage or a use-by date. Storage label templates and storage
logs are available on the Campus Kitchen Pantry. Your Campus Dining Services might have certain types of
labels and marking systems that they require, so make sure to check with them first.

28
Timeline for Using Donations
Knowing what foods spoil more quickly will help determine the order to use your food. Developing a
systematic food use timeline will help prevent food spoilage and waste. ServSafe recommends rotating
stored food, using a first-in, first-out method (FIFO).xxxviii This process entails identifying each food item’s
expiration date and storing items with earliest expiration dates in front of items with later dates—either
on the dry pantry shelf, in the fridge, or in the freezer. Once stored, use items in front first. Consider
sorting through your freezer racks about once a month to keep things in order by date and to make sure
older product gets used up first.
Note: Campus Kitchens don’t always operate strictly on a first-in, first-out method since donations
have different shelf lives. Order of donations received does not always equate to freshness. For
example, you may have received a donation of cabbage a week ago and a donation of fresh salad
greens yesterday. In this case, you will likely want to use the salad greens first, even if they were
donated more recently.
What to Use First?
Step 1: Identify perishable items that you can’t freeze.
• Fresh produce—especially produce that you can’t freeze, like lettuce or other salad greens—should
be used as soon as possible.
Step 2: Prioritize use of items that will spoil more quickly. Keep track of inventory using a food storage log,
like this one on the Campus Kitchen Pantry.
• According to the USDA, fresh meats should also be used as quickly as possible. Raw ground meat,
poultry and seafood will last in the refrigerator for 1-2 days. Raw roasts, steaks, and chops will last
from 3-5 days. Cooked meat, poultry, and seafood will stay good in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, so
these should also be used fairly quickly.xxxix
• Next, liquid dairy like milk, yogurt, and cottage cheese should be used, as their shelf lives range
from 1-2 weeks.
• Fruits and vegetables vary greatly in their shelf life. Some uncut produce, like apples, citrus, winter
squash, onions, garlic, and potatoes keep longer than other more fragile produce like berries or
greens.xl
• Butter and hard cheeses can stay good for a few months, as long as they are wrapped and
packaged correctly.xli Canned goods, dry pantry items, condiments, and frozen foods can last for a
longer amount of time and therefore do not need to be used immediately.
Step 3: If you can’t use produce immediately, cook it or freeze it to extend its shelf life.
• You can cut out the bad spots of produce that has already started to turn slightly. Once these spots
have been cut out, you can freeze the item with little bit of something acidic, like lemon juice.xlii
Step 4: If you can’t incorporate an item into a set meal plan, or freeze it for later use, you can send out the
item as an extra dish, even if a meal is already set.

29
CASE STUDY
The Campus Kitchen at Lindsey
Wilson College put out a call for
donations and had three freezers
donated by different people.
What Do Date Labels on Packaged Foods Mean?
The dates marked on food packaging can be confusing. In fact, there is no federally mandated standard for
date labeling on food items, except for infant formula.xliii The main purpose of product labels are to help a
store determine how long to display a certain item, or to let the shopper when the product will be at peak
quality—it is not a safety date.xliv A “sell-by” date indicates how long the store can display the product for
sale. This does not necessarily mean that the product has gone bad, though. A “best by” or “use by” date
indicates the timeline that is recommended for the product’s best flavor and quality. However, the USDA
recommends that you follow a product’s “use by date.”
For more information on date labeling, refer to “The Dating Game”, a very helpful guide written by the
NRDC and the Harvard Food Law & Policy Clinic. Additionally, this resource guide from the Capital Area
Food Bank provides an easy-to-read table of food coding guidance.
The Food Date Labeling Act, a federal bill introduced in May, 2016, proposes standardized language for
food packaging, which could help reduce consumer uncertainty about the safety of their food.xlv
How Can a Campus Kitchen Increase Storage Capacity?
• Ask dining services for more storage space, such as
access to another walk-in cooler, freezer, or pantry
shelf.
• Buy new equipment or seek donations from your
community.
• Ask departments with kitchens or catering kitchens if
they can give you storage space.
Resources for Storing Food
1. The FoodKeeper: a mobile app that gives food storage advice.
2. SaveTheFood.com: a website component of a campaign by the Ad Council and the NRDC that aims
to reduce food waste. The site gives tips for food prep, storage, and cooking.
3. StillTasty: an online guide to the shelf life of all types of food.
4. Produce Shelf Life Infographic
5. Frozen Food Storage Infographic

30
COOKING
Meal Planning Strategies
There are many different effective meal planning strategies. You might have to experiment to find what
works best in your kitchen, depending on your distribution timeline.
It is helpful to start by classifying the foods you have in your kitchen:
• Starch/grain: a rice, grain, bread, pasta or potato accompaniment to a meal. The starch component
of the meal is a side dish, not the main dish of the meal.
• Protein: any animal product such as beef, chicken, turkey, fish, or eggs; beans can be used to
supplement meat or provide protein for vegetarians. The protein group is the component of the
client’s diet that is commonly absent because it is most expensive. Therefore this aspect of the
meal is very important.
• Vegetable: any plant that can be eaten is a vegetable, such as greens, mushrooms, onions,
cabbages, gourds and squashes, pods and seeds, and roots and tubers. The vegetable component is
a great way to get creative with seasonings, add color and variety.
• Fruit/Dessert: if fresh fruits are available, they make a tasty dessert component that many of the
clients are not able to enjoy on a daily basis. Things to think about are how to serve the fruit, and if
the fresh fruit is cut, if it will discolor. If so, be sure to add an acid, like lemon juice, so the fruit is
still appealing.
• Combinations: combination foods are difficult to classify because they often contain more than one
component. A rice and protein dish can count for both the starch and protein as long as the client
is given enough to satisfy both categories.
Depending on the types of food donations you receive, you may find it challenging to build a perfectly
balanced meal. In an ideal world, MyPlate guidelines recommends that:
• ½ the plate is filled with fruits and vegetables
• ¼ of the plate should be lean proteins (like poultry, fish and beans)
• ¼ of the plate should be a grain (ideally whole grains)
You can visit ChooseMyPlate.gov for daily portioning guidelines for different age groups. Serving sizes to
aim for are:
• Protein: ½ cup vegetable protein (beans, lentils, etc.) or 3-4 oz. (palm size) meat
• Starches: ½ cup cooked rice, pasta, potatoes, etc.
• Vegetables: 1 cup cut vegetables or 2 cups raw greens
• Fruit: 1 cup cut fruit, or 1 medium piece

31
CASE STUDY
The Campus Kitchen at St. Louis
University (CKSLU) uses a diagram to
list proteins by the pound that they
need for each group, they then list
which starch, vegetable, and dessert
they will be giving to each group.
Important Considerations:
• Think about nutrition.
In general, try to reduce salt, sugar, and fat in your meals. Be mindful that many clients will want
food high in fat, sugar and salt. Explaining why you don’t cook that way will hopefully help them
accept these healthier foods and understand the benefits to reducing these elements in their
eating habits.
• Add color and variety.
When planning a menu, try to visualize what the meal will look like. Include as many different
colors as possible, by using a variety of ingredients and garnishes—this means there are more
nutrients in each dish. Incorporate as many different colored fruits and vegetables as possible.
Anything to add color works as long as it fits the
meal. Even some simple garnishes can add a bit of
variety--some examples include parsley or oregano,
light cheese, healthy sauces and dressings, nuts or
dried fruits. Be creative with textures; a menu should
have a contrast of textures, the meal shouldn’t be all
soft and mushy foods. Flavors need to be taken into
consideration as well. Use a combination of sweet,
sour, bitter, and salty foods.
• Outline the meal.
It is crucial to outline what each agency and individual should be receiving for each meal, in order
to make sure every client is receiving adequate nutrition. Additionally, it is necessary to know
which agency will be receiving what. If you don't know how many meals—or what type of meal—
you are delivering, you cannot plan production efficiently.
• Consider available donations.
Often, the meals you prepare will depend on the donations you receive. If your kitchen cooks on
the same day that you receive donations, one strategy might be to start by creating a plan for a
meal based on what you know you have in the freezer, and then swapping in items that you
receive that may fit gaps in your stored meal components—or are highly perishable and must be
used quickly. If you cook a day after your donations come in, though, you have more time to plan
your meals knowing everything that is available. In this case, you can draw up a “must use” list of
food products that need to be used in meals for frozen quickly to avoid going bad. Using a
guideline that ensures a healthy meal (ex. protein, starch, vegetable, fruit); you can then draw
things from the pantry or freezer to use to complete the meal. It is also helpful to build recipes that
can easily swap proteins or produce. For example, a recipe for chicken stir fry can easily swap tofu,
beef, or pork for chicken. It is also a great way to use lots of different vegetables while not
requiring any vegetable specifically.
• Reflect on client taste preference.
Try to get to know the community you’re serving to plan meals that they will want to eat. The taste
preferences of your constituents should play a role in determining your menus. Consider the
demographics and cultural background of the clients. An older adult clientele may prefer
recognizable dishes and flavors, not something new and trendy. Some clients may not enjoy
vegetarian meals as much. However, dishes like vegetarian fried rice, which is something almost
everyone has seen before, may be more easily accepted and enjoyed. Another example is a

32
vegetarian shepherd's pie that uses lentils instead of meat. Lentils may be unusual to some, but the
overall heartiness and familiarity of the dish will make it more enjoyable. Foods like quinoa or
barley may not be as well-received if clients are completely unfamiliar. If serving foods like these,
take note of the reception and ask the clients what they think, then adapt for future meals based
on response. Younger clients often don’t enjoy mixed foods such as casseroles, and may prefer
their foods clearly separated. If you are serving meals to kids, you may have a hard time getting
them to eat their veggies. This means that you should try to cut them small and mix them into
other dishes to hide them, in a way. Make the vegetables taste good and keep it fun so that the
kids will enjoy the dish and learn to love to eat their vegetables.
• Think about seasonality of produce.
Not only are seasonal fruits and vegetables cheaper and fresher, but it is important to serve these
foods so that your constituents can become aware of what it is like to eat according to what is
seasonally available.
Checklist for Menu Evaluation:
1. Does the menu provide a protein, starch, vegetable and fruit/dessert?
2. Do foods on each menu offer a variety of color? Texture? Flavor? Consistency?
3. Can these foods be prepared with the volunteers and equipment available?
4. Are the meals attractive?
5. Do the combinations make an appealing meal?

33
Using Recipes
Since you cannot always predict what kind of food items you’ll receive, or the quantity of food you’ll
receive, it is not always easy to follow recipes exactly. However, recipes are great tools, and their use is
highly recommended. They will make meal planning much easier—especially if you’re not afraid to
substitute ingredients and adapt the recipes to use what you have.
If you have student leaders or volunteers who are more adept at cooking, or more familiar working in a
kitchen, recipes can be used more as inspiration for your meals. You may brainstorm as a team to expand
upon recipes found in books or on the internet, drawing bits and pieces from two or three different
recipes to formulate your own. If you have less experienced cooks, you may want to encourage them to
follow recipes more closely. However, if you’re baking, you should follow recipes more closely, as the
outcome of a baked good does depend on correct ratios of certain ingredients. Preparing, understanding,
and completing a recipe require looking ahead and thoroughly reading the recipe before you start cooking
or baking.
Note: When working in the kitchen, paper recipes may be hard to work with because they easily become
stained, ripped, or otherwise difficult to read. There are a few ways to prevent this, though. For example,
whoever is in charge of filling out HACCP forms can also handle recipe sheets, in order to make sure that
all of the papers stay clean. You could also invest in plastic sleeves to food-proof the papers.
Here are some tips for using recipes:
• Read through the recipe at least twice to make sure that you understand the directions.
• Make sure that you can perform all of the cooking techniques.
• Look at the recipe yield and decide if the number of servings is what you need. If not, consider
whether you should multiply or divide the ingredient amounts.
• Check that you have all the necessary equipment and ingredients, or if you need to make
substitutions.
• Consider whether the equipment the recipe recommends is the best option for you (ex. If you have
access to a commercial steamer, that’s often a faster cooking method for many foods).
• Make sure that you have enough time before serving to prepare and cook the recipe.
• Check whether you can (or need to) make any part of the recipe ahead of time.
• Read through the ingredients to see whether any are common allergens or conflict with your
clients’ dietary restrictions, as well as whether the recipe has too much fat, sugar, or salt for your
nutritional goals. The website, www.myfitnesspal.com, can be helpful for checking basic nutritional
understandings of a recipe. Note: try to avoid making actual claims about your food's nutrition and
allergens to clients for liability reasons, unless one has the proper education and training.
• Check whether you need to use an ingredient, such as butter or oil, at different stages in the recipe
so that you don’t make the mistake of using that ingredient all at once.
• Find out whether you need to preheat the oven.
If you do decide to make your own recipe, or adjust a recipe to fit the ingredients that you have available,
it’s important to have a general understanding of what each ingredient does, so that you can make
appropriate substitutions.

34
Components of a recipe:
• Hydrators liquids: eggs, milk, applesauce, water, juice, honey, syrups, liquid sweeteners
• Dehydrators dry ingredients: starches, flours
• Tenderizersmake the product tender: fats, sugar
• Tougheners give a tougher product: starches

35
Finding Recipes
There are many ways to find recipes for your meals. If you have an LT member with lots of experience in
the kitchen, you can create your own. One tactic is to simply google recipes or look in recipe books to find
dishes based on what you have in the pantry or freezer and what you receive each week. You can also get
advice from dining services staff. Nutrition majors often have lots of knowledge about healthy food, as
well as access to lots of healthy recipes. As you begin to research recipes, consider collecting them in a
folder, binder, or even an electronic database, so that they can be used in future years. Also consider
keeping a spice table or food combination chart around (see pages 21-24 of the “Cooking Shift Survival
Guide” for examples). Here is a list of other very good recipe resources:
• The Campus Kitchens Pinterest page has numerous recipe boards as well as boards for cooking tips
and tricks.
• Supercook is an online recipe database that allows you to search by ingredient
• The Campus Kitchen Pantry Recipe page has links to many resources.
• What’s Cooking? USDA Mixing Bowl allows you to search by ingredient for recipes that are
affordable for SNAP beneficiaries.
• Feedfeed is a cloud source recipe database, searchable by ingredient, season, meal, or dietary
restriction.
• Allrecipes is an online recipe database.
• BigOven is a site with recipe ideas, a meal planner, a grocery list tool, and a recipe organizer page.
• Food Network’s website has a very large and wide recipe selection.
• Cans Get You Cooking has recipes and meal ideas that are based on using canned foods.
• Cooking Matters is part of Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign. The website has many
healthy recipes and cooking tips. There is also a Cooking Matters mobile app that makes recipe
finding even easier.
• Food for Fifty is a cookbook and resource for learning how to prepare and serve food in large
quantity.
• Capital Area Food Bank’s Healthy Recipe Database is a free resource for healthy, tasty, and
affordable recipes.
• Amazing Waste is a cookbook with recipes that use food scraps and repurpose leftovers, written by
students at the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-
Madison.1
1 http://www.gibbs-lab.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Cookbook050516.pdf

36
Cooking Strategies
To make sure that your meals are ready on time, plan out your cooking timeline in advance. Start by
prepping ingredients for dishes that will take the longest to cook. Soups, for example, may need to simmer
for a while. Dense foods like casseroles may need extra time to cool once they come out of the oven. If
your cooking time is too long, think about using a quicker cooking method like steaming. Leave fresh
components of the meals for last.
Cooking in Bulk:
Cooking large quantities of food in an industrial kitchen is a very different experience than cooking in your
kitchen at home. First, you will want to learn how to scale up recipes in order to yield the right amount.
The website www.mykitchencalculator.com easily scales a recipe up or down for you. Another website,
www.onlineconversion.com, is another helpful tool. It provides common cooking conversions, which help
when you scale a recipe up to larger yields. Additionally, the site provides weight to volume conversions,
which are helpful when scaling items like flour.
To figure out the correct portion sizes for meals you’ll be serving, and therefore how many portions you’ll
need to make, see pages 12 and 13 of the “Cooking Shift Survival Guide.” You’ll need to be familiar with
volume conversions to make sure your recipe keeps all of the same ratios. In an industrial kitchen,
everything is bigger, hotter, and more dangerous. Because of these three factors, extreme caution should
be used in the kitchen to assure your own safety, as well as the safety of staff, and volunteers.
The equipment in an industrial kitchen is not just a bigger version of the equipment in a home kitchen.
Appliances and kitchen equipment may work differently in an industrial kitchen than the appliances you’re
used to. For example, a convection oven is not just a bigger oven. It’s hotter and cooks much faster,
therefore cooking times and temps should be altered accordingly. Check the manufacturer’s website for
user manuals if they are not provided on-site. YouTube also may have videos showing how to use specific
pieces of equipment, if needed. Above all, make sure you ask dining services or kitchen staff to show you
how to operate everything correctly.
General tips for cooking in an industrial kitchen:
• Learn the name of the equipment.
• Familiarize yourself with the equipment.
• Always ask permission to use new equipment, and ask questions if you are unsure about anything.
Ask the cooks or kitchen staff about any quirks the equipment might have.
• Distinguish between equipment (if there is more than one of the same item) to avoid confusion.
For example, if Dining Services only want you to use a particular oven.
• If you have a steamer in your kitchen, you can use it to cook rice and pasta quickly in large batches.
Steaming uses less water and takes much less time than using the stovetop. In a steamer, you can
cook a hotel pan of rice in 20-30 minutes. You can also cook vegetables quickly in a steamer.

37
Rescuing Dishes Gone Wrong:
Even if you follow a recipe exactly, cooked meals don’t always turn out as expected. Here are a few tips for
fixing food that doesn’t seem quite right.
Too salty
• If a soup is too salty, try adding a little bit of vinegar, lemon juice, or brown sugar to offset the
saltiness with something sour or sweet.
• You can also try to dilute the soup with water, unsalted broth, or crushed tomatoes.
• Another trick is to put a raw, peeled potato in the pot of soup to absorb the salt. Take the potato
out before serving, then you can use the potato later for another dish such as mashed potatoes.
Burnt
As a general rule, you are probably best off discarding burnt food. But if it must be salvaged try the
following tips:
• If a dish tastes unappetizing because it has burned, try adding barbecue, sweet chili, or hot sauce.
• Puree overcooked food and blend with stock, milk, or cream to make a soup or sauce.xlvi
Making Dishes Healthier:
Maybe you want to fix the way a recipe reads or food is prepared in order to make the meal healthier. To
reduce fat, calories, and carbs, try these alternatives when cooking your favorite dishes. You can create
healthier meals without sacrificing flavor just by trying these simple substitutions:
• Substitute lowfat or nonfat dairy products for full-fat dairy products. For example, use 2 percent or
skim milk rather than whole milk or cream, lowfat or nonfat cottage cheese and yogurt rather than
the full-fat versions made with whole milk, or lowfat or nonfat cheese for regular cheese. These
products often give soups and sauces a thinner, less creamy consistency and may influence the
texture in other dishes, but the health benefits may be worth it. Be mindful of the trade-offs when
substituting low-fat dairy products, as they can sometimes contain more sugar or additives.
• Looking for lower-fat meat options? Try ground chicken or turkey rather than ground beef, or
choose ground beef that is at least 95 percent lean. (Just be aware that hamburgers made from
very lean beef will be dryer and less juicy than those made with a higher fat ground beef.) Choose
white meat over dark meat poultry, and find cuts of beef with the words loin or round in them.
• Choose olive oil and canola oil over butter when sautéing. These ingredients contain
monounsaturated fats, a healthier option than saturated fats for heart health.
• To cut carbs, use lettuce leaves rather than bread for sandwiches or wraps
• Decorate your salads with hard-cooked egg whites and walnuts rather than croutons and full-fat
cheese.
• Avoid processed foods, especially those made with white flour, sugar, and hydrogenated or
partially hydrogenated fats, which are found mostly in prepared meals that come from a box or
package.
• Rinse canned vegetables off to reduce sodium.

38
Strategies for Cooking with Donations
Cooking strategies will vary depending on what type of donations you receive—raw, prepared, or mixed.
Using Raw Product:
Campus Kitchens can transform raw product donations into prepared meals using recipes to prepare
meals for distribution. Alternatively, you can process (chop, season, and mix) raw donations to hand out to
client agencies that have their own kitchen spaces, so they can roast or bake them before they serve. If
you do this, make sure you provide clear instructions for adhering to food safety guidelines, and that the
product is transported and handled in a safe way.
Using Prepared Product:
For prepared donations, Campus Kitchens must be especially careful to adhere to HACCP guidelines by
making sure the product is not reheated too many times, and by finding out how the donor has previously
heated and cooled the product. Many Campus Kitchens make casseroles using prepared donations.
Another option for Campus Kitchens that only receive prepared donations is to combine recovered
prepared products with pantry items to stretch the meal. For example, add extra canned beans to
prepared chili or jarred tomato sauce to plain prepared pasta. You could also add canned vegetables or
chickpeas to plain rice that has been donated. When adding items to prepared donations, make sure that
the donated item is properly cooled first.
Using Mixed Donations:
Campus Kitchens that receive both raw and prepared donations must think carefully about cooking
timelines and strategies. According to HACCP, prepared food can only be reheated once before serving, so
this needs to be considered during the cooking process. Foods must be mixed cold, so if you prepare a
sauce to go on a cooked pasta donation, for example, you need to wait until the sauce has cooled to
combine it with the pasta. Casseroles are a good way to incorporate prepared and raw product into a
meal, although some partner agencies do not like casseroles.

39
Using Large Quantities of Certain Foods
Sometimes you may receive a large quantity of one food item and won’t know how to use it all. In the
following section, you will find suggestions for how to use certain food items that Campus Kitchens have
reported to frequently receive in large quantities. Many of these ideas are also great ways to incorporate
prepared and raw product donations together.
Note: See the attached Cookbook section for more recipe ideas.
Bread:
• Sandwiches
• Hamburger buns can be used as crusts to make hamburger bun mini pizzas
• Bread Pudding, as a dessert or breakfast casserole or savory
• Strata
• Panzanella Salad with Veggies
• Stuffing
• Croutons: Remove crust from bread. Brush each side with butter and bake at 350 degrees, or until
crispy and brown. Let cool. Store in container or plastic bag.
• Breadcrumbs: Dry slices of bread in the oven for an hour at 200 degrees. Break the slices into
pieces, then food process until the bread has formed fine crumbs.
• Topping on French Onion Soup: sprinkle cheese on top of slices of bread and broil until brown and
melted
• Thickener in soups or sauces
Bagels: (see bread)
• Bagel chips: Slice bagels up into chips, toss in a little olive or vegetable oil, toss in spice, and roast
until crispy. Serve with sauce (hummus or dip) or alone
• Use them in salad as croutons, so the dressing will soak in
• Sandwiches: toast the bagels
• Bagel pizzas: put on toppings and then broil
Donuts and pastries:
• Bread pudding: you can make a bread pudding using half donuts or pastries and half bread to
reduce sugar
Bananas:
• Dehydrate
• Caramelize as dessert: Slice bananas. Melt butter in a pan, add bananas and some brown sugar or
maple syrup. Cook until brown and syrupy
• Freeze in skin or peeled and sliced in a container
• Banana chips
• Banana Peanut Butter Dip: Combine 1 banana, ¼ cup peanut butter, ¼ cup yogurt (optional), and 2
tablespoons sweetener (brown sugar, maple syrup, or honey); mash thoroughly
• Banana Bread
• Banana Oatmeal Cookies

40
Fruit:
• Cobbler: fill your baking dish ½-3/4 full of fruit of your choice. Stir in a few tablespoons of
cornstarch and lemon juice. Add a small amount of sweetener if the fruit is tart, as well as any
spices that you desire, like cinnamon or nutmeg. For the topping, mix flour, sugar, and melted
butter until a dough is formed. The dough should hold its shape and not crumble too much. You
can also mix in oats and crushed nuts. Spread topping evenly over fruit and bake at 350 degrees for
about an hour, until filling is bubbling and top is golden brown.
• Fruit Salad
Apples:
• Apple Pie
• Apple crisp (freeze for Thanksgiving if you have lots of extra)
• Applesauce
• Baked apples
• Used in green salads
• Added to fruit salad
• Apple bread
• Braised chicken and apples
• Braised with sausages
• Compote: place 3 cups of fruit (fresh or frozen) and 3 tablespoons of juice (or water plus a bit of
sugar) in a saucepan. Bring to medium heat until the fruit begins to bubble. Reduce head slightly
and mash the fruit. Continue cooking for 10-15 more minutes, mashing from time to time.
Onions:
• French Onion Soup
• Caramelize and add to top of dishes, or freeze in small portions
• Roast with other vegetables
Potatoes:
• Gnocchi: cook potatoes in skin, drain off water, make into pasta to be used in soup or stew
• Shepherd’s Pie
• Potato Curry
• Gratin: place a layer of sliced potatoes on the bottom of a greased baking dish. Pour a small
amount of cream on top of the potatoes, and any seasonings you desire (like thyme or parsley).
Place another layer of sliced potatoes on top of the cream. Top with cheese. Bake at 375 degrees
for about 40 minutes, or until the potatoes are bubbly and soft and the top is golden brown.
Sweet Potatoes:
• West African Stew
• Sweet Potato Fries: Cut sweet potatoes into thin strips or wedges. Drizzle with olive oil and salt.
Bake at 350 until crispy on the surface.
• Sweet Potato Chili
Extra prepared vegetables (or fresh produce that can be cooked):
• Add to lasagna, filled pastas, enchiladas, egg casseroles or soups. You can make these when
produce is available and freeze for later use if there is too much to deliver immediately.

41
Canned Vegetables:
• Throw them in any casserole, soup, or other prepared dish, make sure they don’t stand out too
much
Cooked Rice:
• Fried Rice: Sauté vegetables such as diced carrots, chopped onion, chopped celery, green beans,
corn, peas, or sliced mushrooms. Cook small pieces of meat to add in, or use already-cooked meat.
Add in ginger, garlic, or other seasonings like soy sauce. Add cooked rice and continue cooking until
warmed throughout.
• Rice Patties
• Rice Pudding
• Casseroles
• Put in soups
• Pilaf
• Stuffed Peppers
• Serve with curries or stir fries
Lentils:
• Soup
• Fritters
• Mash up and use as a binding agent instead of egg
• Process with other bean/tahini to make a hummus type dip
Beans:
• Puree with cumin or other spices to make a spread for a wrap or a dip
• Mash up and make into patties
• Stews
• Chili
• Three-Bean Salad
Peanut Butter (use with caution and watch out for allergies):
• Cookies: mix with oats, sweetener like honey, nuts, dried fruit
• Sauce: mix with water, lime juice, soy sauce
• Add to baked goods like brownies
• Add to soup, like sweet potato soup
• Kids’ snacks: ants on a log, apple slices with peanut butter

42
Using Unusual Donations
You may receive donations of items that seem very difficult to incorporate into your meals. Here is a list of
ideas for how to use these strange ingredients.
Soda:
• Add to sauces to sweeten
• Use as a treat: save it for special events
• Bake with it: mix soda and baking mix
Avocados:
• Baked goods: replace butter with avocado
• Freeze as guacamole
• Puddings: puree avocados with vanilla, a pinch of salt, the sweetener of your choice, and a flavor
such as lime juice or chocolate
• Replace mayo in prepared salads or salad dressings
Fresh herbs:
• Freeze by picking leaves off stem, then chopping before putting them in bags or with a bit of oil or
water in an ice cube tray or small containers
• Use to season dishes
Lemons and limes:
• Squeeze and freeze juice
• Use to prevent sliced fruit from browning
• Salad dressing
Saltine crackers:
• Send out with a piece of meat or fruit (for snack programs especially)
• Grind them up and use them as a filler in meatloaf or meatballs
• Crush up and use as a topping on casseroles
• Serve with soup
• Make a dessert by combining saltine crackers with brown sugar, melted butter, and chocolate,
then put in the fridge
Tofu:
• Put in brine overnight. Press it to let dry and then cook like meat.
• Add to fried rice
• Indian stew
• Can be used as a binding agent in place of eggs (silken tofu)
Figs:
• Serve whole in fruit salad
• Make jam to go with meat
• Peanut butter and fig jam sandwiches

43
Sweet Cereal:
• Crush up for crusts: put jam on top to make a pie or fill with eggs and veggies for more savory
quiche (make sure you don’t use sweet cereals with savory fillings)
• Crush cornflakes as breading or toppings
Potato chips:
• Tortilla Espanola: fold chips into beaten eggs and cook in a casserole pan in oven or skillet on the
stovetop
• Crush and use as breading or casserole topping
Celery:
• Put in stock
• Add to slaws
• Add to chicken or tuna salad
• Roast it
• Add to stir fries
• Put in soups
• Serve raw with peanut butter, sun butter or cream cheese (ants on a log) or hummus/other
vegetable dip
Juice:
• Add a little bit to pies/crisps in place of sweetener
Underused vegetable parts:
• Root vegetable tops (beet greens, radish greens, etc.) can be put in soups or braised with vinegar
and red pepper
• Carrot top pesto
• Broccoli stems can be sliced thin and baked to chips, they can also be eaten raw, they can be
shredded and put into slaw, cream of broccoli soup, stir fry
• Baked potato peels can be made into chips
• Bottoms of celery and lettuce can be put in water and regrown
• Save vegetable peels and scraps for stock
Cooked spaghetti:
• Spaghetti bake
• Pasta pie
• Curried noodle patties
• Stir fry
Cake:
• Cake balls: Crumble cake and mix with enough frosting to form a mixture that will hold its shape
when rolled into a ball. Place rolled balls onto a tray and place in the refrigerator for a few hours or
in the freezer for about 15 minutes, until firm. Dip cake balls in melted candy coating or chocolate.
Let dry.
Tortillas:
• Quesadilla pie

44
• Make them into chips by toasting in oven with a small amount of oil and salt.
• Tortilla Pizzas: Put cheese, sauce, and other toppings on top of a tortilla and broil until cheese
melts
• Make wraps
Crushed/stale tortilla chips:
• Toast them and use them as topping
• Tortilla crusted dishes
• Chicken tortilla soup
Prepared wraps:
• Transform into pita chips (from the wrap) and make pizza (made with the filling as the pizza
topping)
o If the wraps don’t include enough veggies, by turning it into a pizza you could add
vegetables
Prepared chicken:
• Chicken nuggets can be roasted and tossed in sauce or chopped up and formed into patties for
sandwiches or topped with gravy
• Stir fry over rice or other grain
• Put over greens as salad
• Chicken fried rice
• Stews
• Chicken dumplings
• Chicken salad: Mix cooked and diced chicken with mayonnaise, diced celery, halved grapes,
chopped parsley, mayonnaise, some lime or lemon juice, salt, and pepper. You can make variations
on this basic recipe by adding different fruits or nuts, vegetables, or spices. For example, you can
make a curried version by adding raisins and curry powder.
• If not enough, supplement with beans or other protein source to get enough protein
Prepared pork (especially BBQ):
• Hash: mix with potato, onion
• Add egg or other binder to make meatballs
Other meats:
• Sloppy joes on bread with sauce
• Serve as a “Gyro” in a pita with yogurt sauce
• Spaghetti and Meat Sauce
Canned tuna (or other canned fish, ex. Salmon):
• Tuna Salad: mix tuna with minced celery, sliced red onion, mayonnaise, a touch of mustard, lemon
juice and salt. You can use vinaigrette instead of mayonnaise.
• Tuna Pasta Salad: make variations with different grains (couscous, rice) and types of pastas
• Tuna Melts
• Tuna Patties: mix old bagels or bread, tuna, and a binding agent like egg, sauté or bake patties
• Tuna and Bean Salad
• Tuna Croquettes

45
• Tuna Noodle Casserole
Ramen:
• Crush up, add eggs, and make into pancakes
• Use as a topper on salads or other dishes
• Use without spice packet as regular noodles
• Add other vegetables as soup (need to think about mushiness when serving)
• Cold Asian noodle dishes with dressing, protein, vegetables
Squash:
• Roasted on high heat
• Put in casseroles
• Soup
• Squash seeds can be roasted with spices for a tasty snack or garnish on soups or salads
• Squash Curry
• Spaghetti squash: roast and use as a pasta substitute

46
Making Up for Foods that You Don’t Have
Alternatively, there may be times when you do not have the necessary ingredients to make a well-rounded
meal. To get around this, you might have to buy ingredients from the store to fill the gap. Before you
resort to taking a trip to the grocery store, first try to look for recipes that do not require the ingredients
that you are missing, or substitute the missing ingredients with another alternative (See “Swaps” section
for more ideas on substitutions). If you seem to be chronically missing a certain food item or nutritional
component, think about organizing a targeted food drive or finding a partner organization to trade items
with.
Below is a list of food items that Campus Kitchens have reported that they frequently do not get enough
of, as well as ideas for how to make up for this insufficiency.
Proteins:
A good rule of thumb when cooking is to try to stretch the resources that you have available. Try to
incorporate proteins into your dishes, rather than have a protein act as the centerpiece of a meal. For
example, rather than serving chicken breast as a main dish, with a side of vegetables and rice, you could
make a stir fry, with rice and vegetables acting as the centerpiece and pieces of chicken integrated. If you
don’t receive a lot of fresh meat, think about using canned meat or fish instead. You can also plan some
recipes that use beans, quinoa, lentils, tofu, or other non-meat sources of protein. Think about
supplementing a meat dish by adding beans—for example, add a can of beans to beef chili if there is not
enough beef on its own.
Fresh Produce:
If you are not able to obtain fresh produce, or if it is winter and there aren’t many vegetables in season,
you will also need to figure out how to stretch what you have. You can mix different types of vegetables to
create a side dish, rather than serving one type on its own. For example, if you do not have enough
broccoli to serve to everyone as a side, you can mix a few types of vegetables. It works great to roast a
bunch of different veggies together to create a roasted vegetable medley.
Pantry Staple Items:
Some Campus Kitchens have a hard time obtaining staple items like oil, flour, sugar, spices, other baking
supplies. See the following section on Swap Ideas for ideas on how to work around this.

47
Swap Ideas
You may need to make swaps and substitutions to recipes if you’re missing certain ingredients to a recipe
or if you’re missing certain nutritional components to make a balanced meal. You may also need to make
swaps for client dietary restrictions. The following table has many ideas for swapping foods in order to
make up for missing ingredients, or in order to make the recipe a little bit healthier.
Sauces and Condiments:
Baking Ingredients and Pantry Items:
Ingredient Amount Substitution
Baking powder,
double acting
1 tsp. • ¼ tsp. baking soda, ½ tsp. cream of tartar, and ¼ tsp.
cornstarch
• ¼ tsp. baking soda plus tsp cream of tartar
• ¼ tsp. baking soda plus ½ c. buttermilk or yogurt
(decrease liquid in recipe by ½ c.)
• ¼ tsp. baking soda plus ¼ c. molasses (decrease liquid
in recipe by 1-2 tbsp.)
Bread crumbs,
dry
¼-⅓ c. • 1 slice bread
• ¼ c. cracker crumbs
• 2/3 c. rolled oats
• ¼ c. crushed rice cereal
Chocolate,
semisweet
1 2/3 oz. • 1 oz. unsweetened chocolate plus 4 tsp sugar
Ingredient Amount Substitution
Chili Sauce 1 c. • 1 c. tomato sauce, ¼ c. brown sugar, 2
tbsp vinegar, ¼ tsp. cinnamon, dash of
ground cloves and allspice
Coconut milk 1 c. • 1 c. milk
Ketchup 1 c. • 1 c. tomato sauce plus ½ c. sugar and 2
tbsp vinegar (for use in cooking)
• 1 c. salsa
Lemon juice 1 tsp. • ½ tsp vinegar
Mayonnaise (for use in
salad and dressings)
1 c. • 1 c. yogurt, sour cream or cottage cheese
pureed in blender
• 1 avocado, mashed
Oil, (for sautéing) ¼ c. • ¼ c. melted butter, shortening or lard
Tomatoes, canned 1 c. • 1 1/3 c. diced tomatoes simmered 10
min.
Tomato sauce 2 c. • ¾ c. tomato paste plus 1 c. water
Peanut Butter 1 c. • 1 c. sunbutter, 1 c. almond butter, 1 c.
tahini

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