Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 61.51
Liaison Karen Eckert, Ph.D.
Submission Date March 5, 2021
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Principia College
IN-26: Innovation C

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Karen Eckert, Ph.D.
Professor and Director
Center for Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Name or title of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome:
Saturday Cafe - A Community Partnership

A brief description of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome that outlines how credit criteria are met and any positive measurable outcomes associated with the innovation:

In the spring of 2019, students in our Sustainable Food Systems class arranged to volunteer at the Saturday Cafe, a hot meal line in nearby Alton, IL serving the urban poor and hosted by the First Presbyterian Church. The students recognized the need for nutritious, portable food that could be given to families as they left - and from that idea was born a campaign to solicit donations from their classmates. Students with remaining meal plan "points" at year's end were asked to use them to purchase nutritious, portable food items from Dining Services and then to donate them to large, labeled bins placed in the dining hall. The response was overwhelming - and pallet after pallet of food (protein bars, cereal, pasta, snacks) were later transported to the church. The initiative has been suspended because of COVID, but it will become a regular spring tradition going forward! This is a significant innovation for us because nothing like these donations had ever been by the college, and the idea was student-driven.


Which of the following impact areas does the innovation most closely relate to? (select up to three):
Campus Engagement
Public Engagement
Food & Dining

A letter of affirmation from an individual with relevant expertise or a press release or publication featuring the innovation :
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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