Our efforts to contribute to the campus goal of sustainability increased
this past year in practices related to coffee, green chemicals, produce, grocery
and beverage purchases for both retail and production use.
• Purchases of organic produce were 7% of total produce purchases, up
2% over fiscal year 06/07. The majority of the organic produce purchases were
locally grown lettuces.
• Purchases of organic and/or Fair Trade coffee increased 7.8% over
last year. Out of 26,305 pounds of coffee purchased, 19,425 pounds were Organic,
Fair Trade, or a combination of both.
• Purchases of green chemicals increased by 5.8%. Use of green chemicals
represented 17.8% of all chemical purchases.
• Purchases of organic foods and beverages were $221,000 or 3.7% of
total purchases for the year.
• A waste audit was performed in May which determined that 41% of UCen’s
waste is diverted from the landfill. By utilizing the commingled waste program,
Marborg is able to capture more recyclables than by the traditional methods
of customer sorting at the trash receptacle. UCen Dining diverted an additional
20 tons of green waste from the landfill which Marborg uses to create compost.
• Dining recycled 6,000 gallons of used cooking oil via a local company
that creates bio-diesel for alternative fuel.
• UCen Dining purchases only 100% post-consumer copy paper for all department
copy machines, printers and fax machines. Last year’s usage was 241
reams of recycled paper.
This past year several changes were made to our production recipes and non-organic
ingredients were substituted for organic. Dining now produces a variety of
partially organic prepared foods. The majority of packaged salads that are
sold in the cafes and convenience stores and our bulk salads sold in Romaine’s
are made with organic legumes, grains, or pasta. This also includes our soups
that are made with grains, legumes and pasta. Our dinner rolls and pizza dough
are made with organic flour and our breakfast burritos are made with organic
rice and black beans. As additional organic components become affordable and
available they will be added to our recipes in lieu of non organic ingredients.
The new menu at Coral Tree also incorporates a variety of organic ingredients.
Not every organic item added this year was a success. With a dairy bid up
for renewal this year it was requested in the bid process for vendors to provide
organic pricing along with pricing structures for dairy products with BGH
(bovine growth hormone), prices without BGH, and prices for organic dairy
products. After bid analysis it was determined that UCen Dining could add
the more expensive organic half and half with the remainder of our dairy purchases
being non-BGH. The organic half and half came from a small family dairy in
Central California, but from the outset we had problems with the product.
The half and half was not thoroughly homogenized and when added to coffee
it gave the appearance of being spoiled. Customers complained but the dairy
refused to homogenize the product fully as they felt it altered the quality
and flavor of the half and half. Our coffee units tried educating customers
about the uniqueness of the product but the education campaign failed so the
product was discontinued.
Organic Food Fair
As a tool to bring awareness of organic products on campus, UCen Dining sponsored
the first annual Organic Foods Fair on October 29, 2007. The goal of the event
was to introduce the campus to Dining’s organic food vendors, to sample
the organic products, and to identify the locations on campus where these
foods and beverages are sold. Nine vendors representing 26 organic foods and
beverages participated in the event. Dining hosted a table promoting foods
that are prepared in UCen’s Central Kitchen that contain organic ingredients.
Over 1,500 students attended the fair.
Dining’s commitment to the campus mission of sustainability is evident
through participation in various committees on sustainability. A representative
from UCen Dining participates in both the Recycling and Composting campus
committees. UCen Dining has been active with campus sustainability since the
campus kick-off of the Natural Step training back in fall of 2005. As an original
member of the campus Change Agent group, UCen Dining continues to participate
and assist in creating campus goals for achieving sustainability. This past
year a representative of UCen Dining was invited to join the Office of the
President’s committee on Foodservice Sustainability. Through regular
conference calls this group is developing the sustainability guidelines for
the UC system in relation to foodservice purchasing. The dining departments
on all UC campuses have pledged the 20-20 initiative which states that 20%
of dining purchases will be organic by the year 2020.
