Grilling More Than Meat: How a Student Club is Cooking Up Community

A group of students at a university have started a club that is about more than just grilling food. They want to build a community around it. The Gator Grill Club is a new student organization. It focuses on the art of grilling and sharing meals together. The club's first meeting drew a large crowd of around 300 students. They gathered at Flavet Field to learn about grill safety and enjoy some food. The club's executive board members believe that grilling is more than just a hobby. It is a way to bring people together and give back to the community. The club plans to host cookouts for the homeless as their main form of community outreach. They also hope to teach others about grill safety and the process of how meat is prepared. The club meets on Wednesdays. Each meeting focuses on a different aspect of grilling. Some meetings will be more casual grill-outs. Others will focus on food safety and proper grilling techniques. Members of the club have different levels of grilling experience. Some, like Ava Prator, help out more behind the scenes. She is in charge of booking rooms and making merchandise. She also takes notes and keeps track of what is going on. She does not have a lot of grilling experience. But she enjoys helping out when she can.Other members, like Reed Coene, are focused on growing the club. He believes that partnering with local businesses could help the club secure more stable funding. He is currently reaching out to businesses in Gainesville. But he has not received any responses yet. Despite the difficulties with outreach, members are still hopeful. They believe that the club will continue to grow. The club was founded by Cooper Zysk. He has been an avid griller his entire life. In high school, he and his friends had cookouts for football games. What started as a hangout between friends became a cherished tradition. Zysk wanted to bring that sense of tradition and community to the university. But starting the club was not an easy task. It took several months to become official. The club had to get insurance and address safety concerns. But Zysk is proud of what the club has accomplished so far. Only one meeting in, the team behind Gator Grill Club has cooked over 300 burgers and 500 hot dogs. The future of the club looks bright.