Sustainable Foodservice Progress Report 2011
Compiled by:
UC Davis Dining Services Department of Sustainability and Nutrition
Linda Adams, RD
Director
Danielle Lee Sustainability Manager
Sara Kosoff
Sustainability and Education Coordintor
And
Sharon Coulson ASUCD Coffee House Director
Allen Doyle
Campus Sustainability Manager
University of California - Sustainable Foodservice Progress Report 2011
Overview of UC Davis Dining Services UC Davis Dining Services is committed to actively engaging in procedures, policies and practices that foster a sustainable food system at the University of California, Davis. Resident Dining Program: UC Davis Dining Services, provided by Sodexo, operates three dining commons across campus: Segundo, Tercero and Cuarto Dining Commons. The resident dining program provides approximately 50 thousand meals each week and 375,000 retail transactions at resident convenience stores. The resident dining program also includes the central UC Davis Commissary and UC Davis Harvest Bakery. Retail Dining Program: Sodexo also operates retail dining at the Silo, Gunrock Pub, Scrubs, BioBrew, and manages contracts with small businesses1 and national franchises Taco Bell, Carl‟s Jr., Pizza Hut and Starbucks. There are additional concessions with coffee booths and in the stadium. Over 26 thousands transactions are made each week at retail operations on campus. University Catering is also managed by Sodexo and provides food to over 5,000 events every year on large and small scale. Retail dining utilizes the UC Davis Harvest Bakery and UC Davis Commissary for packaged retail food offerings. Department of Sustainability and Nutrition: This office within Dining Services is comprised of three full-time employees and over 35 UC Davis student interns that participate in quarter- or year-long internships. Linda Adams, RD is the director of the department, with over 20 years of food service experience at the UC Davis campus. Danielle Lee is the Sustainability Manager with over 5 years of food service experience at the UC Davis campus. Sara Kosoff is the Sustainability and Education Coordinator, and the newest addition to the department as of August 2010. The department manages the UC Davis Dining Services sustainability program, which oversees the seven core sustainability practices campus wide: education, health and wellness, community and culture, sustainable agriculture, locally grown and produced, waste reduction and elimination and environmental stewardship.
1 Subcontracted food vendors are not included in this report – this includes Shah’s Halal Food Cart, La Crepe, Five-Star Catering and Cargo Coffee
University of California - Sustainable Foodservice Progress Report 2011
UC Davis Dining Services Food System Map UC Davis Dining Services Foodservice Operations
About UC Davis Dining Services. UC Davis Dining Services has been serving the UC Davis campus for over 35 years through various management companies including Service Systems, Marriott, Sodexho-Marriott and now Sodexo. UC Davis Dining Services manages over 750 employees – many of which are University of California, Davis employees. To learn more about Dining Services and their commitment to sustainability, please visit http://dining.ucdavis.edu/sustainability.html About Sodexo. Sodexo provides a wide range of Foodservice and/or Facilities Management services to the following sectors: Corporate Services, Defense, Justice, Remote Sites, Health Care, Seniors, Education and Sports & Leisure. Sodexo is a multinational corporation founded in Paris that serves the US, Ireland, the UK and France. Within the Education sector alone Sodexo manages over 6,238 sites and has over 90,438 employees serving educational facilities. To learn more about Sodexo and their commitment to sustainability, please visit http://www.sodexousa.com/usen/roles/corpcitizn/corpcitizn.asp
Sustainable Food Procurement
Sodexo, USA
UC Davis Dining Services
Resident Dining Retail Dining
Segundo Dining
Tercero Dining
Cuarto Dining
Silo Gunrock Pub
and Cafe
Coffee Kiosks
Bio Brew
ARC Starbucks
Brenan‟s Silo Sandwiches
La Crepe (subcontract)
Taco Bell
Carl‟s Jr. Silo Express
Concessions
Aggie Stadium
UC Davis Mondavi Center
Athletic
Concessions
University
Catering
Convenience
Stores
The Junction
Crossroads
Trudy‟s
Culinary Support Center
Harvest Bakery
Cargo Coffee (subcontract)
Scrubs
5 Star Catering (subcontract)
Shah’s Halal Food (subcontract)
Pizza Hut Express
University of California - Sustainable Foodservice Progress Report 2011
Since implementing a sustainable food program in 2006, UC Davis Dining Services has continued to expand sustainable food choices in both resident and retail dining.
As Dining Services continues to work closely with vendors on reporting sustainable and local products, we have seen an increase in transparency across the system. Reporting Techniques UC Davis Dining Services utilizes the criteria listed by the University of California within the Sustainable Foodservices Policy guidelines to determine % sustainable food purchases. These criteria include:
- Locally Grown2 - Fair Trade Certified - Domestic Fair Trade Certified - Shade-Grown or Bird Friendly Coffee - Rainforest Alliance Certified - Food Alliance Certified - USDA Organic
- AGA Grassfed - Pasture Raised - Grass-finished/100% Grassfed - Certified Humane Raised & Handled - Cage-free - Protected Harvest Certified - Marine Stewardship Council - Seafood Watch Guide “Best Choices” or “Good Alternatives” - Farm/business is a cooperative or has profit sharing with all employees - Farm/business social responsibility policy includes (1) union or prevailing wages, (2) transportation and/or
housing support, and (3) health care benefits - Other practices or certified processes as determined by the campus and brought to the Sustainable
Foodservices Working Group for review and possible addition in future policy updates.
In addition to the criteria listed above, UC Davis Dining Services also includes „Campus Grown‟ in reporting % sustainable food purchases.
Residential Dining Program - Sustainable Food Purchases: Over the 2010/2011 academic year, UC Davis Dining Services made several changes in the resident dining menu program to increase sustainable food options for residents and guests. Several highlights of these program changes are listed below:
Cage free eggs All eggs served in the resident dining commons are now cage-free and Certified Humane Raised & Handled or American Humane Certified Sustainable and Local Dairy Products All milk and some additional dairy products including yogurt and select cheeses served in the resident dining commons are sourced from Clover Stornetta Farms, a leader in sustainable dairy practices. These products are American Humane Certified. Sustainable Salad Bar
2 Resulting from regional constraints, campus definitions of “Locally Grown” may vary; however, Locally Grown cannot be
defined as over 500 miles; UC Davis Dining Services defines “Locally Grown” as grown/raised within 250 miles from the UC Davis campus, with an emphasis on 50-mile and 100 miles from campus.
University of California - Sustainable Foodservice Progress Report 2011
Cuarto Dining Commons features a full sustainable salad bar with over 60 options including house-made dressings, organic produce, sustainably produced options, campus-grown and locally grown items. Food Alliance Certified Beef Hamburgers Food Alliance Certified Hamburgers are featured once a week in Segundo and Tercero Dining Commons and daily in Cuarto Dining Commons. Campus Grown Students developed a program for Dining Services to purchase organic, UC Davis Student Farm grown produce for Cuarto Dining Commons during the academic year and Tercero Dining Commons during the summer. Dining Services also partnered with the UC Davis Russell Ranch Sustainable Agriculture Facility to purchase over 8,000lbs of processing tomatoes to make a signature house-made roasted tomato sauce.
UC Davis Dining Services spends over $5.6 million on food every year within the resident dining program. Over the past five years, Dining Services has shifted over 20% of their food purchases, nearly $1.2 million each year, towards local and sustainable growers and producers.
% SUSTAINABLE BY FOOD CATEGORY 2009-2010 2010-2011
BEVERAGES 8.29% 6.28%
MILK & ICE CREAM 4.09% 48.84%
GROCERIES 13.83% 12.26%
MEAT, EGGS & CHEESE 9.21% 24.11%
- PORK 3.89% 12.46%
- POULTRY 4.27% 2.60%
- RED MEAT 5.35% 12.32%
- SEAFOOD 78.41% 87.77%
- CHEESE 4.40% 6.63%
- EGGS 13.39% 90.22%
PRODUCE 87.67% *45.54%
% SUSTAINABLE BY SUSTAINABILITY CRITERIA 2009-2010 2010-2011
CAMPUS GROWN 0.18% 0.25%
LOCALLY RAISED/GROWN (250 mi) 18.55% *12.93%
FAIR TRADE CERTIFIED 0.71% 0.72%
FOOD ALLIANCE CERTIFIED 1.41% 1.52%
USDA CERTIFIED ORGANIC 2.07% 2.78%
PASTURE RAISED 0.31% 0.19%
CERTIFIED HUMANE RAISED & HANDELED 0.32% 0.44%
CAGE-FREE 0.33% 2.66%
SEAFOOD WATCH 0.96% 1.72%
OTHER CERTIFIED PROCESSES 0.04% 0.04%
% SUSTAINABLE FOOD 22.88% 21.35%
Reporting techniques for produce purchases varied greatly from 09/10 to 10/11, accounting for the notable decrease in %
sustainable purchases in produce. The 09/10 numbers were based on estimates from our produce vendor. As our produce vendor has increased its capacity to track for local and sustainable purchases within the past year, the 10/11 numbers are a more accurate representation of our sustainable produce purchases.
University of California - Sustainable Foodservice Progress Report 2011
*Reporting techniques for produce purchases varied greatly from 09/10 to 10/11, accounting for the notable decrease in % sustainable purchases in produce. The 09/10 numbers were based on estimates from our produce vendor. As our produce vendor has increased its capacity to track for local and sustainable purchases within the past year, the 10/11 numbers are a more accurate representation of our sustainable produce purchases.
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University of California - Sustainable Foodservice Progress Report 2011
Retail Dining Program - Sustainable Food Purchases: Retail dining has made strategic increases in sustainable food items over the past academic year. Tracking of sustainable food purchases also began this past academic year, and included tracking of historical purchases from the 09/10 academic year for benchmarking. This year-long project was spearheaded by UC Davis Dining Services sustainability intern and Real Food Challenge coordinator, Genevieve Lipari. Several program highlights for retail dining are listed below:
Sustainable and Local Dairy Products All milk and some additional dairy products including yogurt and select cheeses used at the Gunrock Pub, University Catering and other retail outlets across campus are sourced from Clover Stornetta Farms, a leader in sustainable dairy practices. These products are American Humane Certified. Sustainable Salad Bar The Gunrock Pub features a sustainable salad bar with over 15 options including house-made dressings, organic produce, sustainably produced options, campus-grown and locally grown items. Locally Grown Increased purchases from regional small- to mid-scale family farms were made over the past academic year and featured in the Gunrock Pub, University Catering and other retail outlets across campus. Highlights include honey produced just 35 miles from campus at BZ Bee apiaries. Campus Grown Student Farm produce and house-made Russell Ranch Roasted Tomato Sauce are featured on the Gunrock Pub menu as well as limited time offers in University Catering.
UC Davis Dining Services spends over $2.2 million on food every year within the retail dining program. Over the past five years, Dining Services has shifted over 7% of their retail food purchases, nearly $150 thousand each year, towards local and sustainable growers and producers.
% SUSTAINABLE BY FOOD CATEGORY 2009-2010 2010-2011
BEVERAGES 6.42% 5.91%
MILK & ICE CREAM 0.00% 63.60%
GROCERIES 1.87% 1.77%
MEAT EGGS & CHEESE 0.70% 1.21%
- RED MEAT 2.01% 0.40%
- SEAFOOD 1.95% 21.83%
PRODUCE 12.93% 17.51%
% SUSTAINABLE BY SUSTAINABILTY CRITERIA 2009-2010 2010-2011
CAMPUS GROWN 0.52% 0.12%
LOCALLY GROWN/RAISED (250 mi) 1.92% 6.06%
FAIR TRADE CERTIFIED 0.49% 0.37%
FOOD ALLIANCE CERTIFIED 0.01% 0.11%
USDA ORGANIC 0.66% 0.56%
SEAFOOD WATCH 0.02% 0.18%
OTHER CERTIFIED PROCESSES 0.09% 0.04%
% SUSTAINABLE FOOD 3.50% 7.65%
University of California - Sustainable Foodservice Progress Report 2011
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UC Davis Retail Dining - Sustainable Food Spend
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2009-2010
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University of California - Sustainable Foodservice Progress Report 2011
Sustainable Operations UC Davis Dining Services is committed to waste reduction and environmental stewardship. Recycling, Composting and Food Waste Each year Dining Services diverts thousands of tons of organic matter, office paper, plastics, glass and metals from the campus landfill through recycling and composting programs in all operations. All events hosted and catered on campus by UC Davis Dining Services are zero-waste events. All dining commons are trayless operations and the retail operations are plastic-bag free. Composting of all food waste occurs in all three resident dining commons, the commissary and bakery. Plate waste from the Gunrock Pub is composted, as well as coffee grounds from various locations on campus. Over the 10/11 academic year, over 4 thousand pounds of mixed paper and 58.5 thousand pounds of glass, metals and plastics were recycled in the resident dining program and over 550 tons of organic matter was recycled into composted campus wide. Food waste reduction was a heavy focus of sustainability programming this past academic year. Various waste audits were conducted with the students‟ plate waste in the resident dining commons. A portion size reduction was piloted at the Mongolian BBQ platform during the spring quarter, resulting in significant waste from overproduction and student plate waste. Student sustainability interns also promoted the „Go Bunless‟ campaign to help student reduce the amount of uneaten hamburger buns from the grill platform in the dining commons. Segundo Dining Commons piloted the LeanPath food waste tracking system to help reduce waste from overproduction, trim waste and overall food waste management. The pilot program proved to be very educational for our culinary staff. The program also helped us identify very clearly and accurately areas of focus for retraining our employees and provided a scope for reevaluating some of the procedures in place through the unit for handling production and leftovers. To learn more about the LeanPath program, visit this website: http://www.leanpath.com/ Finally, the zero-waste Aggie Stadium, with concessions run by UC Davis Dining Services, was awarded two prestigious awards over the 2010/2011 academic year for innovation in waste reduction and diversion from the landfill for the 2010 football season. These awards were:
- 2010 Environmental Protection Agency‟s WasteWise Game Day Challenge - Diversion Rate Champion (December 2010)
- 2011 California Higher Education Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Best Practice Award - Innovative Waste Reduction (April 2011)
Sustainable Business Certification UC Davis Dining Services achieved third-party sustainable business certification for all three UC Davis resident dining facilities – Tercero, Segundo and Cuarto Dining Commons – by the Sacramento Area Sustainable Business program. This program promotes businesses that take voluntary actions to prevent pollution and conserve resources. The three dining locations were certified in all six of the categories listed below:
- Energy Conservation - Water Conservation - Pollution Prevention - Solid Waste Reduction
University of California - Sustainable Foodservice Progress Report 2011
- Green Building - Transportation & Air Quality
Best practices included in the certification include, but are not limited to:
- Energy efficient lighting, efficient HVAC systems, energy efficient kitchen equipment - Water efficient aerators, low flow nozzles, high efficiency toilets, etc. - Pollution prevention by managing hazardous materials and dumping of pollutants in drains - Solid waste reduction through the implementation of a zero-waste program highlighting - composting, recycling, reducing and reusing - Green building by utilizing natural daylight and using low emission building materials - Encouraging alternative transportation and using low/no VOC paints
To view the entire performance checklist for each UC Davis Dining Services resident dining facility, please visit http://dining.ucdavis.edu/sustainability.html/. To learn more about Sacramento Area Sustainable Business Certification, please visit http://www.sacberc.org/Web/programs/ssbp/program.php. Green Buildings Over the 2009/2010 academic year, Oxford Circle Dining Commons was closed for renovations. It was re-opened and rebranded as Cuarto Dining Commons in fall of 2010, tracking at the gold level for LEED certification for commercial interiors. In April of 2011, Cuarto Dining Commons was awarded its gold level LEED certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. Some of the features of the newly renovated building include mechanical system improvements, lighting energy use reduction, renewable energy, non-chemical water treatment systems, solar heat recovery system with high-efficiency boilers and pumps, lighting controls integration and utilization of recycled-content materials. In addition to LEED, CI gold certification and the Sacramento Area Sustainable Business Certification, Cuarto Dining Commons was a recipient of the 2011 California Higher Education Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Best Practice Award for Sustainable Foodservice. Campus Grown Floral Arrangements Launched in winter of 2011, University Catering receives weekly deliveries of campus clippings from the UC Davis Grounds division and turns pruning, which would have otherwise been mulched, into floral inspired arrangements for decorative use at events. This initiative began when University Catering sought ways to improve the sustainability of floral arrangements used to decorate catered events on campus. The program is now an extension of the Grounds and Landscape Service‟s program, „UC Davis Campus Grown‟, which transforms unused assets into retail products, which made for a perfect partnership.
Health and Wellness Promoting a healthy mind, body and soul is essential for the physical sustainability of our students and employees. UC Davis Dining Services is a leader in providing healthy, well-balanced meals to the campus community and providing enriched educational materials that support healthful food choices.
University of California - Sustainable Foodservice Progress Report 2011
Dining Services features from-scratch cooking in our dining rooms, restaurants and catering events, as well as offering healthy to-go meal items for students on the run and support students‟ health by providing alternative beverage options in the resident dining commons, convenience stores and retail operations. Over the past academic year, Dining Services launched and expanded many programs to promote health and wellness. Highlights are listed below:
Simply-to-Go Program UC Davis Dining Services launched the Simply-to-Go program campus-wide in retail locations and resident convenience stores in fall of 2010, offering student campus-made to-go meals featuring whole-food ingredients. Healthy Food Labeling Expands to Retail Locations In conjunction with the launch of the Simply-to-Go program, Dining Service partnered with the UC Davis Student Health Services, Healthy Education and Promotion department to debut the Happy Healthy Apple nutrient density labeling program, which is now featured on all Simply-to-Go packaging in addition to being featured in the resident dining commons. The Happy, Healthy Apple program helps students and customers identify which of the Simply-to-Go or resident dining menu items are „healthy‟ choices based on nutrient density. The more nutrient-dense an item is, the more „apples‟ it receives. The criteria for this program can be found online at http://dining.ucdavis.edu/nutrition.html.
From-Scratch Cooking
UC Davis Dining Services continues to incorporate more whole-foods and from-scratch cooking every year in the resident dining program. Cuarto Dining Commons piloted several menu program changes over the 2010/2011 academic year that will be launched campus-wide with the incoming class of 2015, including, but not limited to:
- house-made croutons - more house-made, from-scratch dressings - house-made, from-scratch syrups - whole-grain, locally-baked breads - natural cheeses replacing processed cheeses - house-made breakfast potato products replacing processed, packaged potato
products (i.e. hash browns)
Vegan-Friendly College UC Davis Dining Services was recognized as one of the top-10 vegan-friendly colleges in the nation in 2010.
Education and Outreach Education is at the core of UC Davis Dining Services sustainability program, with the goal of providing a living lab and educational environment to engage and encourage students to be conscious consumers. The Healthy Planet, Healthy Me! education program runs through the academic year and provides education on the seven core sustainability practices behind UC Davis Dining Services sustainability program - waste reduction and elimination, environmental stewardship, sustainable agriculture, locally grown and processed, health and wellness, education and building community and culture. This program highlights Dining Services‟ sustainable practices throughout the year in resident and retail dining locations through educational activities, table tents, games, events, engaging displays and posters. Healthy Planet, Healthy Me programs provide student and guests the opportunity to learn how they can make a positive impact on their community and environment.
University of California - Sustainable Foodservice Progress Report 2011
The Nutrition Talk education program runs through the academic year in the resident and retail dining locations and provides students and guests opportunities to learn key strategies to eat healthy and exercise right. The program features a nutrition bulletin board loaded with information about the weekly topics addressing some of the most common questions related to nutrition, wellness and exercise. For even greater personalized care, nutrition interns, as well as the resident Registered Dietitian, Linda Adams, are available to address students and guests questions related to nutrition, health, wellness and exercise. Dining Services offers a variety of sustainability and nutrition-related internships over the academic year – providing over 35 UC Davis students leadership experience in sustainable food systems, health and wellness. Highlights from Dining Services‟ commitment to education and outreach this past academic year are listed below.
Resident Garden The Resident Garden at Segundo is a space for on-campus residents to learn about edible plants, how they are grown and cared for and how they can be prepared after harvesting. The garden will also provide an opportunity for student leadership and community involvement. Inaugural planting of the Resident Garden happened in June of 2011by the UC Davis class of 2014. Design and program development for the Resident Garden took place over the 2010/2011 academic year by a group of students and campus departments including: William Klein, Tessa Artale, Andrew Carstens, Molly Bernstein, UC Davis Dining Services, UC Davis Student Housing, UC Davis Environmental Health & Safety and UC Davis Grounds departments. UC Davis Student Farm Student interns with UC Davis Dining Services and the Student Farm worked with campus growers to expand the reach of campus-grown produce into the resident dining commons. Students developed a model for communicating weekly produce availability to the dining chefs, as well as handling the pick-up and delivery of the organic produce. Student interns also led several educational tours for chefs and students out to the UC Davis Student Farm market garden. Student Farm produce was also incorporated into educational, hands-on cooking classes that were held in Cuarto Dining Commons over the past year. Sustainability and Nutrition Education Expands to Retail Locations The Nutrition Talk and Healthy Planet, Healthy Me education programs were expanded to reach campus-wide dining services retail-outlets in addition to the resident dining commons where the programs originated. Cooking with California Foods: K-12 Culinary Training UC Davis Dining Services partnered with the Center for Ecoliteracy and Evans & Brennan LLC to host a state-wide conference bringing K-12 chefs and food service administrators together to learn about the benefits of from-scratch and seasonal cooking and how to incorporate whole-foods recipes into school lunch. The event was a great success, with over 100 participants from across the state of California. Farm-to-College Events Once again, Dining Services hosted its Farm-to-College special meals in fall and spring of this past academic year, bringing together the campus and local community to celebrate sustainable agriculture and regional food systems. The menus featured local and campus grown items, sustainable proteins and from-scratch favorites. The events were also rich in hands-on activities and educational displays, engaging students and guests in various aspects of sustainability within our food system.
University of California - Sustainable Foodservice Progress Report 2011
East Quad Farmers Market Dining Services continued to support the on-campus East Quad Farmers Market this year as a financial sponsor and marketing partner. Our support of the program also expanded this past academic year to allow resident meal-plan holders to utilize their meal equivalents to purchase fresh, local produce from the market. Meatless Monday Although meat is not pulled from any menu programs on Mondays, UC Davis Dining Services does engage students and guests about the nation-wide Meatless Monday campaign through education activities, taste-tests and nutrition and sustainability education. This past academic year, over 560 UC Davis students pledged to cut out meat one day a week through the Dining Services Meatless Monday campaign.
Resources To find out more about UC Davis Dining Services sustainability initiatives, please visit http://dining.ucdavis.edu/sustainability.html.
University of California - Sustainable Foodservice Progress Report 2011
ASUCD Coffee House The Coffee House, affectionately known as CoHo, continued its from-scratch wholesome and hearty service with nearly 300 student employees. These students make sandwiches, serve entree‟s, work 6:00 am shifts, cook and bake as they build leadership skills in management roles. Students working at CoHo often remain throughout their university experience as camaraderie is very high.
Sustainable Food Procurement Purchasing compliance with UCOP criteria for sustainable foods has not been quantified as of September, 2011. Vendors and purchasing amounts were generally similar to 2009-10, when the “CoHo Calculator” tool was developed to quantify sustainable purchases, and qualifying purchases was about 17% of total spend. All coffee is organically grown, and many of the locally-baked items use local flours or nuts.
Sustainable Operations LEED Gold Renovation The highlight of the 2010-11 year for CoHo was the October 2010 opening after a year-long renovation. The renovation is certified by the US Green Building Council as meeting standards for LEED Gold, with such features as: Reused 40-50% of kitchen equipment Renewable materials for tabletops and cabinet faces Re-used table bases
Zero Waste Commitment
CoHo is a key partner for UC Davis in meeting its zero landfill goals by 2020. As part of the renovation there was a commitment to have the indoor space be a zero landfill facility, so all plates, cups bowls and flatware are compostable. In fact, the CoHo has reached about a 99% compostable level with only chip bags, grab and go plastic baggies, yogurt and cottage cheese containers remaining that are not compostable or recyclable. Clearly messaged triple bins labeled “Compost”, “Recyclables” and “Landfill” are spread throughout Memorial Union, and education has taken hold of customer habits so that compost and landfill are rarely contaminated with the opposite items. Compost Compactor As part of the renovation CoHo purchased a composting compactor, the second on campus. This enabled composting of pre- and post-consumer waste at CoHo, and it provides a second site where compostable items may be deposited. This greatly reduces transit times for groundskeepers and custodial services. As
University of California - Sustainable Foodservice Progress Report 2011
always, the CoHo continues to divert 100% of its kitchen scraps and coffee grounds to either the compactor or compost bins collected by the UCD Student Farm. Zero Landfill Event Support CoHo supported zero waste at large events such as Picnic Day on the Quad by providing compostable food containers to all student vendors. This assured that the pilot site would be a success without a complicated review for each vendor. As a result the Quad had essentially zero landfill waste, and in the words of one grounds keeper, the Quad had “never been so clean”.
Student Leadership and Learning Composting Pilot Project and Report During 2009-10 a student honors class studied composting in retail settings, ran a pilot displays, collection and audits, then wrote a report, “Retail Template: Campus Composting Initiative”. http://sustainability.ucdavis.edu/local_resources/docs/recycling/compost_retail.pdf. The logos and conclusions informed the practices in CoHo during the 2010-11 dining year. Student Conference Support In spring 2011 CoHo generously allowed and supervised food preparation by student volunteers for a “Convergence” organized by the California Students For Sustainability Coalition. The commercial-scale prep equipment, pots and pans empowered a few students to cook donated vegetables and grains into wholesome meals for 200 local and 200 visiting students. The Convergence is based on learning and practicing sustainable behaviors and developing policy, and CoHo supported that in a fundamental way. The Convergence provides introductory learning as well as inviting nationally prominent thinkers and speakers.
