For Ohio University Bobcats looking to get involved in the neighborhood, Cooking for Souls might be a club on campus to explore. OU’s Cooking For Souls chapter, which started this academic year, is student-run and focuses on cooking and delivering meals to underprivileged areas in Athens.
According to a 2023 study by Data USA, 22.1% of Athens residents live below the poverty line. This is almost double the national average from 2023 of 12.4%.
Food insecurity is one of the leading factors of poverty in Athens. The Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service reports 760 Athens’ residents are food insecure. The U.S. The Department of Agriculture classifies much of Athens as “low-food access areas” due to “proximity to stores, access to transportation and ability to pay.”
Cooking for Souls strives to help those below the poverty line who are experiencing food insecurity. The club delivers homemade meals, hosts philanthropy events and connects with locals through homemade food.
Robert Palmer, a junior studying business pre-law, business analytics and finance, is the president of the organization and said he learned about Cooking for Souls through a friend.
“I was reached out to by a friend of mine from high school who founded this organization entirely at UCLA,” Palmer said. “She was trying to expand to other areas and other colleges.”
Cooking for Souls at the University of California Los Angeles was the first chapter of the organization, founded by Amal Aboumerhi, a student. The organization not only fights food insecurity, but brings people from different walks of life together.
Since its establishment, Cooking for Souls branched to other colleges including the University of Cincinnati and the University of Pittsburgh.
Kate Colan, a freshman studying journalism, is the OU chapter’s marketing chair and said members already had success raising money despite their short time on campus.
During the fall semester, the organization held a Pie the President fundraiser. Anyone could come to the table on College Green and pay $2 to shove a pie into Palmer's face. Palmer said the event raised $56 for the club.
“(It was) getting people involved in a fun way and saying, ‘Hey, this is a good cause,’” Colan said. “People did want to donate.”
Colan said some who approached the table did not take the opportunity to pie the president, but instead just donated money toward the organization. A good first sign for the club that people cared about the cause and wanted to help the community.
Cooking for Souls is also working with three other campus organizations, including Cat's Cupboard. Cat’s Cupboard is an on-campus food pantry available to OU students, faculty and staff, providing access to fresh, frozen, and shelf-stable food options. Cat’s Cupboard provides Cooking for Souls’ donation bins for its upcoming food drives.
Cooking for Souls hosts food drives with Cat’s Cupboard to support other organizations like Good Works, a group dedicated to providing hope to those impoverished and homeless in rural Appalachia. Additionally, food drive donations are sent to the American Red Cross, Palmer said. Cooking for Souls is also working towards raising money for the American Red Cross, and is already 30% of the way done with its $1,000 goal.
“They do what we do, just professionally,” Palmer said. “So we’re working with them to help them in any way we can.”
As OU’s Cooking for Souls chapter moves forward and grows, Palmer said it is looking to host two events per semester.
“I want to really create a strong relationship where we're actually running a cooking event and a food drive every single semester, at the very least,” Palmer said.
Palmer hopes that after his term as president finishes, the organization continues to grow and develop. With a desire to have an impact in Athens, Palmer said Cooking for Souls is starting strong with its presence on campus, and hopes to gain more members.
The chapter hosts outreach meetings biweekly on Thursdays at 6 p.m. The chapter’s Instagram page includes an interest form and event information.
