Center for Trans and Queer Advocacy

College student hunger is a bigger issue than ever – this past August, the U.S. Department of Education found that undergraduates are twice as likely to experience food insecurity than the general public. West Chester University’s Resource Pantry exists to fight food insecurity on our campus, serving almost 3000 visitors this past Fall semester and distributing over 33,000 items to students. We rely on community donations for this mission, and one of our most commonly donated items are cans of beans. Canned beans are a valuable item for so many reasons- shelf-life, protein, cost, but they can be challenging for students to use. Students often don’t have a can opener, or access to a kitchen beyond a basic dorm setup. As young people, often learning to cook for themselves for the first time, students also don’t always know how to prepare beans. To combat this, we are hosting our inaugural Queens and Beans event on April 18.

• Competition Entries open - March 26
• Tickets on Sale (limited to just 100 tickets)
• Competition Entries close - April 12 at 11 p.m.
• Competitors Announced - April 15
• Event Day - April 18

Can't make it, but still want to support the Pantry? Click Here

Queens and Beans Cooking Competition Official Rules

General Rules and Regulations

• Contestants must pre-register to enter contest by April 12 at 11 p.m. Contestants will be notified no later than 5 p.m. on April 15.
• There is NO entry fee.
• Contestants must be current students, staff, or faculty of West Chester University.
• Recipe and recipe instructions must be provided with entry.
• Recipe must include canned beans of any type (garbanzo, black, pinto, kidney, navy, etc.)
• Ingredients cannot cost more than $25. NOTE: Each entry will receive a $25 budget for items to be purchased at Giant Food Store.
• All food preparation and cooking must be done on site during the designated times.
• Contestants must prepare and cook food following proper sanitation and safety procedures, not limited to wearing gloves and head covering.
• Cooking conditions are subject to inspection throughout the competition.

Recipes Rules

• Recipes must be able to be prepared in 45 minutes or less.
• Recipes must serve at least 4.
• All ingredients and amounts must be listed in submission.
• All preparation and cooking instructions must be included in submission.
• All participants agree to have their recipes included in a cookbook to be shared publicly without compensation.
• Committee reserves the right to reject any entry that does not meet requirements.

Cooking Competition Schedule on April 18

• All participants must comply with the following timeline to qualify for participation.
• Food lab opens on April 18th at 4:30pm (eastern time) to review rules, sanitation, and become familiar with equipment.
• Preparation and cooking will begin at 5 p.m.
• Food must be plated and ready for judging by 5:45 p.m.
• Judging starts at 5:45 p.m.
• Winners will be announced at 6:30 p.m.

Submit Your Recipe Entry

Thank you to our Sponsors!

• Department of Nutrition
• Stark & Stark 
• Department of Communication and Media
• Department of Psychology