As Caitlin Grdinich nears the end of her final semester in the dual MPH/MSW program at the University of Georgia School of Social Work, she will also soon finish nearly half a decade of service to the Athens area with Campus Kitchen at UGA.
The desire to serve is paramount to any future social worker, and helping the community has made a lasting impact on Grdinich – so much so that it changed her focus and field.
The Carrollton native wanted to become a doctor from an early age and entered college with medical school at the top of her mind. She was a psychology major in the honor’s program as an undergraduate, completing a number of volunteer hours in clinical settings before she received an email about an opportunity with Public Service and Outreach (PSO) Student Scholars, which led to a placement at Campus Kitchen at UGA.
Since 2012, the Campus Kitchen at UGA has recovered over 572,000 pounds of food, creating more than 133,000 meals from scratch and delivering nearly 25,000 bags of food to older adults in the process. A program of the UGA Office of Service-Learning, the organization spotlights sustainable solutions to hunger and food waste in order to showcase a mutually beneficial university-community partnership.
After completing a semester-long placement, Grdinich was offered a paid internship position that she utilized throughout the duration of her undergraduate studies. She learned more about nonprofits and how they operate, and she served in communications, shift leadership, food operation, and other capacities with Campus Kitchen at UGA during that time. After consulting with friends, she realized both a master’s in public health and social work aligned with her future goals.
“I always knew I wanted to help people, but I thought helping people in a space like a nonprofit, and doing more community work was a better fit for me than going to medical school,” Grdinich said.
Grdinich continued her work with the Campus Kitchen at UGA alongside her master’s coursework, becoming a graduate assistant and coordinating the organization’s food trailer. The Campus Kitchen Food Trailer is a fully-functioning kitchen that the organization uses to cook hot and ready meals for various community events.
Each month, the trailer travels to two dedicated events, including Our Daily Bread, a downtown Athens community kitchen that serves individuals facing homelessness, and U-Lead, a nonprofit that helps individuals receive equal access to higher education. Additionally, the trailer hosts a number of other community events, offering fresh food for free.
“We really focus on the importance of food. I know everyone needs multiple different things to survive, but food, I learned, is the foundation of it all.,” said Grdinich. “It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from. Everybody needs food to keep going, and without food, you can’t focus, you can’t work a job, you can’t sleep well at night. It’s really that foundation for all of those other things.”
Grdinich’s work with Campus Kitchen at UGA only strengthened a positive experience in the classroom. She noted that a section of “Community Engagement and Assessment,” taught by Megan Westbrook, which involved a project with the Athens Land Trust, helped her find unique ways to engage her community.
Director of Practicum and Professional Education Shannen Malutinok also provided practical advice as Grdinich worked through challenges that arose during a practicum at a local shelter, and helped hone her skills to work at the micro-level, deviating from Grdinich’s normal macro-level focus.
Grdinich spent time with a number of populations during her academic career. In her specialized practicum with the East Athens Development Corporation, she oversaw job coaching, youth education, and other community development programs while planning resource events.
The experience also gave her a chance to connect underserved communities with essential services, including Campus Kitchen at UGA. Building those connections has been a critical component of Grdinich’s time in Athens, as she looks for ways to meet the needs of her clients and those in need.
“I really think that’s how you make change in a community,” said Grdinich. “It’s those interconnections between agencies and just being able to work together with other people who want the same thing: to help people. That’s a really impactful experience for me and one that I’ll take into the future.”
It’s taken time in the classroom and in the field for Grdinich to find her future. As a gerontology minor graduate, she feels clarity about working with older adults populations, specifically those facing hunger.
“Older adults have a really hard time because they’re not able to work anymore, and a lot of times, the different benefits that they get aren’t enough,” said Grdinich. “So seeing the impact and being able to work with older adults in the food recovery space has really been impactful for me.”
As Grdinich’s final semester nears its end, she’ll participate in the Campus Kitchen at UGA’s TurkeyPalooza. Partnering with the Athens Community Council on Aging, Grdinich and her colleagues host a food drive with more than 30 local organizations, collecting hundreds of cans and food items.
After the drive, the team will head to the kitchen to cook 133 meals and put together grocery bags for another 276 meals for families to make their own Thanksgiving dinner. It’s a full-circle moment for Grdinich to serve an organization that has impacted her educational and professional journey.
“It’s just my favorite event because it’s so cool seeing so many different types of people come together to serve the same purpose and make sure that everyone has a Thanksgiving meal, said Grdinich. “I just love hearing the feedback from our clients about how much it means to them – that’s really what keeps me going.”
