Robert L.E. Egger, founder and president of D.C. Central Kitchen, will speak on “Using Punk Rock and Leftover Food to Change the World,” at 4:30 p.m. March 27 in Room 132 of Goldfarb Hall. The lecture is free and open to the public.
The non-profit D.C. Central Kitchen began operations January 20, 1989, redistributing excess food from the presidential inauguration. Today, the organization runs a nationally recognized culinary arts job-training program where unemployed men and women learn marketable skills turning donated food into balanced meals for social service agencies.
“Washington University and the St. Louis community have a number of exciting and innovative social entrepreneurship activities, including student education, cross-campus events and those between universities in our community,” said Barbara E. Levin, lecture organizer and coordinator of the Alliance for Building Capacity at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work.
“We expect that Egger will inspire us, motivate us, challenge us and validate the great social innovations we see in our community. It’s another great opportunity for Brown School to link our resources with those in our community.”
Egger, author of “Begging for Change: The Dollars and Sense of Making Nonprofits Responsive, Efficient and Rewarding for All,” chairs the Mayor’s Commission on Nutrition in Washington and Street Sense, Washington’s “homeless” newspaper.
He also is on the board of the Food Systems Leadership Institute, which is based at the University of North Carolina.
The NonProfit Times included Eggers on its list of the “50 Most Powerful and Influential Nonprofit Leaders of 2006.” In addition to being the recipient of the Volunteers of America’s 2005 Community Service Award and the 2004 James Beard Foundation’s Humanitarian of the Year award, Eggers has been named an Oprah Angel, a Washingtonian of the Year, a Point of Light and one of the Ten Most Caring People in America by the Caring Institute.
For more information, call 935-7573.