WCU SPJ Chili Cook-Off will be on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 5 p.m. Image provided by Keegan Wiggins.
WCU SPJ will be holding a Chili cook-off contest and fundraiser for HomeBase and SPJ. The event is on Nov. 13 at 5 p.m. in HomeBase, which is located across from Nine Lives just past Hunter Library. HomeBase provides free housing for students as well as food, school supplies, clothes, and other necessities that are essential to living on or off WCU’s campus.
The organizers are using the event to raise awareness on topics of food insecurity, hunger, and homelessness in western North Carolina and WCU with guest speakers from Smoky Mountain News and Carolina Public Press, Cory Vaillancourt and Frank Taylor.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 14.5 percent of households in USA were classified as food insecure in 2012. North Carolina and the western region has a higher food insecurity rate than the national average. The mountainous terrains and rural communities with fewer cities make it a more common issue. On WCU’s campus, according to the Director of the Center for Service Learning, Lane Perry, 1 in 3 students are unsure of where their next meal will come from on a monthly base.
Vaillancourt is a reporter for Smoky Mountain News will talk about his experience reporting on the issue of homelessness and access to food in Haywood county. He started reporting on this issue during the Thanksgiving holiday in 2017 and continues to cover the topic because not much has been improved. Carolina Public Press has been reporting on hunger and food insecurity in western North Carolina for the past year.
The proceeds from this event will go towards WCU SPJ and HomeBase.
Come enjoy a hot bowl of chili and company for a small fee of $5 or for free and vote for the best chili recipe on campus. If you want to participate in the cook-off, email Katerina Spasovska at kspasovska@wcu.edu with the subject line Chili Cook-Off.
