Emma Kahle

Written for my bi-weekly column “An Occasional Word” in The St. Lawrence Plaindealer, a printed newspaper serving the Canton, New York Community.

I grab a baseball cap and tie my long hair back into a ponytail. After thoroughly washing my hands, I grab a pair of blue gloves and struggle to pull them over my still-wet hands. I carefully peel a pile of large carrots, removing each bit of skin to reveal a bright-orange interior. My mouth waters thinking about the taste of a fresh, cold carrot — but not right now Emma, these aren’t for you. After peeling more than I can count, I cut the carrots into thin slices to ensure people have no trouble enjoying them. While I  initially felt cold in the heatless chamber, my hard work soon warms my body and I forget ever feeling cold. 

Hidden away in the corner of the Eben Holden Conference Center lies a kitchen, where St. Lawrence students and Canton locals gather for Campus Kitchens shifts a few days a week. A big part of my sorority, Kappa Delta Sigma, is local community service. Hence, I’ve spent a decent sum of time volunteering at Campus Kitchens. 

“It gives you a good opportunity to get involved with the community and have a direct impact,” says Lauren Bier, the co-philanthropy chair of my sorority. Bier organizes opportunities to get the KDS sisters helping out nearby, including with Campus Kitchens, GardenShare and Bittersweet Milkweed Farm.

Back in the kitchen, I start peeling the cucumbers. I slice them into small bites. I start cutting fast, slamming the knife against the cutting board while moving it to the left a bit each stroke, like a chef in a speed-cooking show. But I soon realize the quality is being sacrificed for speed, and my slices are uneven and sloppy. New strategy — slow and steady — much to my friends’ relief, likely scared I might lose a finger with the prior strategy. 

Senior Sally Eggers serves as co-president of Campus Kitchens. She helps organize shifts and handles logistics behind the scenes. Her favorite part of Campus Kitchens is the serve shift, where volunteers go to the Unitarian Universalist Church to serve meals and engage with the Canton community. 

“I made a ton of connections and I always had a blast chatting with everyone at the church,” says Eggers. Sometimes she enjoys the interactions so much that she is a few minutes late to the delivery shift, but it’s “worth it to chat with everyone.”

One of my favorite Campus Kitchens shifts is deliveries. Volunteers take a white SLU van to an apartment complex right outside Canton and go door-by-door to deliver the meals to community members. “Delivery, Campus Kitchens!” I’ll say while knocking on doors. The first time I got nervous – what if the person yells at me or gets angry about something with the meal? But I quickly realized the people were kind and grateful for us delivering meals.

“It was satisfying to have immediate gratification and know that my actions were having a good impact on the community,” says Ellie Dann, president of my sorority.

Last step in the kitchen is to toss the salad and distribute the greens into containers. As I close up the last cardboard box, my heart feels full. While the salad is a small part of the meal, just knowing that I am making a difference in people’s lives is one of the best feelings out there.