After a busy week of classes and extracurriculars, few students may think to cook an elaborate meal on a Friday night. Yet, every Friday, around 5 to 10 Dartmouth students gather in Our Savior Lutheran Church to cook and serve a buffet-style dinner — ranging from tacos to pancakes and bacon — to the Upper Valley community.
The student-run organization, named Hanover Community Kitchen, serves dinner to residents of the Upper Valley weekly that are open to anyone, according to executive leader Matt Koff ’25. While the student cooks vary from meal to meal — the organization’s three executive leaders coordinate with a different student group on campus each week — approximately 15 to 20 of the same community members return every Friday, according to executive leader Tatum Bernet ’25.
According to Bernet, participating student groups have ranged from Greek houses to sports teams. Bernet and Koff said they first volunteered with HCK through their Greek organizations during their sophomore years. Following their experiences, both began cooking weekly with the rotating groups before assuming leadership positions during their junior years, Koff said. Now, as executive leaders — along with Nicolaus Dahl ’25 — they are in charge of coordinating weekly volunteers and overseeing the meals, Bernet said. One additional student — who will run HCK next year — volunteers with HCK each week, according to Bernet.
Bernet said that planning involves many moving parts. The executive leaders create a cooking schedule at the beginning of each term, coordinate which student group will cook each week and provide guidance during the weekly dinners, Bernet said. Each group then picks their own recipes and purchases their own ingredients, according to Bernet.
For Koff, volunteering with HCK allows him to “make connections” and “get to know” people in the broader Upper Valley community.
“I think it’s been really nice to be involved with the community — not just the Dartmouth community, but the Upper Valley community,” Koff said.
Although Bernet claimed that she was “not a cook at all,” she described the meals as the “highlight” of her week. Bernet said she values how HCK allows her to experience the Upper Valley beyond the fast pace of Dartmouth.
“At Dartmouth, there’s such a culture of being so busy,” Bernet said. “It’s important to make time for things that you find important and being able to get outside of Dartmouth has been really rewarding.”
I attended the first dinner of the winter term on Jan. 17. Members of Sigma Delta sorority and Phi Delta Alpha fraternity joined HCK to cook fajitas with a side of rice and beans and brownies for dessert. I watched from the back of the kitchen as the modestly sized church kitchen filled with chatter and laughter, cooks and guests alike dispersed across multiple long tables.
Sigma Delta philanthropy chair Emily Aldous ’25 said she enjoys volunteering with HCK because it is a good opportunity to build connections with the Upper Valley community and leave the “Dartmouth bubble.” She sees HCK as a space that allows students to “be a human being” rather than just a student, she added.
Over time, frequent volunteers strengthen their connections to community members who regularly attend the meals, Bernet added. According to Bernet, she is now “friends” with everyone who attends the dinners.
“It’s pretty much the same people that come every week, so I feel like I’ve gotten to know them pretty well and always have really fun conversations,” Bernet said. “I’ve met some really awesome people.”
For example, Bernet said one community member who comes about “once a month” is a musician who writes his own songs and loves to perform. According to Bernet, the man brings his piano or keyboard to the dinners and plays for the people cooking.
“He just gets so excited to be able to share that [music] with people, and everyone cooking is so excited to hear it,” Bernet said.
In addition to building relationships with Upper Valley residents, the leaders of HCK also broaden their connections on campus through the rotating cast of student groups, Koff said.
“It’s always fun to make it a little bit of a competition about what group is going to bring the best food and make the best food,” Koff said.
When groups cook a particularly good meal, Koff said he feels “proud that the Dartmouth students did a good job” and happy that the community members feel “cared for and connected with us.”
According to Koff, the Global Health Fellows cooked an especially memorable meal last fall.
“They came with a really big group of undergrad[uate]s and master[’s] students, and they made this really good Mediterranean feast that had a lot of good veggies and sides and meat,” Koff said.
Although the organization centers around cooking, Bernet emphasized that there are “no prerequisites to coming” and volunteering. She encouraged everyone — even those who lack culinary experience or are not involved with a student group — to join them in the kitchen from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Fridays. Bernet thinks it’s a “great way to end the week” after classes.
“We’re always looking for more people to come,” Bernet said. “… We’re happy to have everyone.”
Koff encouraged curious residents of the Upper Valley to check out HCK if they “don’t want to cook dinner on a Friday night or need someone to eat with.”
“It’s really for anyone in the community,” Koff said. “And not to brag, but it’s pretty good food.”
