Do you have a favorite meal on campus? Are you vegetarian or vegan? Can’t have gluten or lactose, or got another food allergy? Maybe you’re just tired of burgers and pizza after having them all week. I know I’ve come across these kinds of restrictions with my food, just about every day. Now imagine that, times thousands of students, and now you have to prepare meals for them 3 times a day every day. Our food service company Bon Appétit does exactly this! We are a part of a nation-wide food service company that had its humble beginnings at UP. What started as a food catering service has transformed and is continuing to evolve into a leader for sustainable food companies.
A sustainable future for food service means flavorful food that’s healthy and economically viable for all, produced through practices that respect farmers, workers, and animals; nourish the community; and replenish our shared natural resources for future generations.
- Bon Appétit Management Company’s definition of sustainability
Recently, a Bon Appétit Fellow visited the school to teach a bit about the company and how it implements sustainable practices throughout the company. This was really cool and I had the opportunity to volunteer with her at a program on campus called “Weigh the Waste”, as well as participate in a casual but informative lecture she gave for a sustainability seminar, a kitchen tour that she organized with the kitchen’s executive chef, and a movie screening with our College Ecology club on campus. I spent a larger amount of time that I’d like to admit indulging in this source of information, because I couldn’t let this opportunity pass by!
So as a student you’d think we’d have a pretty good understanding of what a food service company does. Serve reasonably priced, quality food. There is an abundance of flyers and posters around the dining halls, but who reads those anyway? Something that stood out to me was the various animal welfare regulations that they had started.
Clean cows, happy hens, perky piglets & fresh fishies
Since 2002, they have been striving to serve only seafood that meets Seafood Watch® sustainability guidelines, since 2003 they have reduced antibiotic use in farm animals, have served milk that does not promote the use of the growth hormone rBGH, and just recently have included zero-antibiotic beef, switched to cage-free shell eggs in 2005 and cage-free liquid eggs in 2016, switched to humanely raised ground beef in 2012 and started phasing out pork raised with gestation crates in the beginning of 2016.
This was fantastic to hear, and if you’re still interested there always more to read on the café bon appetite website. But what about students who already don’t partake in the consumption of animal products? There are still many more facets of sustainability that can and are being improved upon. For example, disposables.
Dirty Disposables
During the “Weigh the Waste” program I mentioned above, we couldn’t help but notice the tower of plastic cups accumulating in the landfill waste. It’s never a pretty sight to see more plastic headed for landfills, but it was just a little easier knowing that some background work had already been done to ensure that the impact of these plastics in particular would be eased. The fact that this program had been put into effect already says a lot about the company, and the eager student participation is always encouraging! Another campus-specific program starting is the “Eco-takeout” program that allows students to participate in a re-usable takeout container program, reducing the use of the cardboard takeout boxes. It admittedly has had a rocky start but after an overwhelming student participation rate, it seems to be looking up from here.
You’d expect this level of environmental consciousness in Portland, but I know I didn’t see it in a “big corporate company” that also happens to serve companies like Amazon and Twitter (where apparently it is called “Bon Appetweet” and I think that is adorable). I found it inspiring and gave me one more reason to love our campus. Now excuse me, I’m craving a vegan Indian bowl and a gluten-free cookie...
