Our Vision

What is Desert Kitchen Collective?

Desert Kitchen Collective (DKC) is a growing group of artists, designers, educators, students, citizens and activists seeking to eradicate hunger and food apartheid and promote food justice and food sovereignty. We use food as a means to build awareness around systemic inequity and bridges among disparate communities with distinct lived experiences but shared needs and desires. For over a decade, member faculty at the University of Dayton have teamed up with community partners such as Co-Op Dayton, Gem City Market, The Dayton FoodBank, The Collaboratory and Hall Hunger Initiative through our primary annual event, Dinner in the Desert Kitchen (DDK), a student and faculty-produced art exhibition, auction and dining experience. Our teaching, research and service is supported by The University of Dayton’s Department of Art and Design and Hanley Sustainability Institute.  

DKC and DDK were co-founded during the University of Dayton’s inaugural undergraduate food justice cohort, which was co-designed by professors Dr. Ruth Thompson-Miller, Glenna Jennings and Issa Randall for the course VAR 350 Art and Social Practice. Jennings initiated UD’s first Socially-Engaged Art curriculum within a trans-disciplinary model that aims beyond academia through its inclusive platform of anti-racism, anti-colonialism and environmental justice. We understand that health and wellness outcomes are deeply tied to geography and demography, meaning that one’s zip code can be a stronger determinant of well-being than one’s DNA. Through creative approaches that embrace both art and science, we envision a world where all humans have access to healthy, affordable, culturally appropriate food in a just, equitable and resilient future food system.