Chartwells Monthly | April 2017
Stop Food Waste Day is April 28
communication / executive message
table of letter from the ceo
contents:
2 Letter From the CEO
Let’s Eliminate Waste April has always been one of my favorite months of the year. The weather warms up, the days are longer and the flowers begin to bloom. At Chartwells, April is an equally exciting time in our business and this year is no exception. As we fuel students for their upcoming finals, we are also providing them with one last lesson on how to practice more sustainable eating during our first ever Stop Food Waste Day.
Lisa McEuen
President & CEO, Chartwells Higher Education Dining Services
Our commitment to reduce food waste has been embedded in our ethos since we were founded 20 years ago, however this year, we took it to a whole new level. Implementing a brand new food waste program, Waste Not and launching the first ever Stop Food Waste Day, today, April 28, all of our locations are raising awareness and promoting food waste solutions in their own engaging and interactive way.
3 Stop Food Waste Day 4 Campuses Are
Getting Greener
9 Earth Day on
Campuses Around the Country
10 Contact Chartwells
2016
I am so honored to be a part of an organization that feels just as passionately as I do about eliminating food waste. I encourage each and every one of you to read through the stories in this very special edition of Chartwells Monthly and hope that you too will be inspired to join us in our fight to ‘save the food.’ Lisa McEuen President & CEO Chartwells Higher Education Dining Services
2016 CSR Report From plant-forward menuing, to reducing food waste, and focusing on animal welfare, Compass Group is working to create a more sustainable food system and healthier planet for future generations. Click here to view the Compass Group Corporate Social Responsibility Report. Students at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County share how they’ll stop wasting food.
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CHARTWELLSMONTHLY.COM | APRIL 2017
A Landmark Commitment Compass Group USA is driving change from the inside out with a landmark commitment to reduce food waste by 25% by the year 2020. This commitment is made in an effort to combat the negative environmental, social, and financial effects of food waste.
2020
According to The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) an estimated 40 percent of food in the U.S. goes uneaten. In partnership with Celebrity Chef Tom Colicchio and Unilever, Compass has launched a dynamic platform to raise awareness and promote food waste solutions.
On April 28, 2017 Compass Group cafés across the country will celebrate the first National Stop Food Waste Day as part of Earth Month showcasing:
Delicious Produce (IDP) – two million pounds of • Imperfectly rescued produce nationwide • Waste Not – an internal tracking tool to measure waste • Save the Food marketing and root-to-stem recipes
Read the entire press release here.
Stopping Food Waste at Home Story adapted from Greatist List: http:// greatist.com/health/ how-to-ways-reducefood-waste; 29 Smart and Easy Tips to Reduce Food Waste. Laura Newcomer, November 26, 2013.
Food waste doesn’t just happen in our campus foodservice operations. Food is wasted at home just as often! In fact, restaurants contribute about 15 percent of total food waste, while households contribute about 25 percent of total food waste. Here are some ideas to help you reduce food waste at home, which positively impacts landfills, and your wallet. – Laura Lapp, VP of Wellness and Sustainability
LESS & OFTEN MAKE A PLAN
OFTEN & LESS
TAKE STOCK
LOVE YOUR LEFTOVERS
QUESTION THE DATE
Reduce the amount of food you bring in.
Go shopping more often, purchase less.
Take stock of what you throw away.
Use expiration dates judiciously.
Taking a few minutes to plan meals and snacks for the week means you can plan for leftovers and create shopping lists and purchase just enough. If you only need two carrots for a recipe, only buy two carrots, not a one-pound bag.
Shop more frequently and only purchase what you can realistically use within a couple of days. This doesn’t fit your schedule? Plan fresh fruits and veggies into the menu shortly after shopping, and use frozen in meals later in the week.
Designate one night as leftovers only and clean out the fridge.
Keep a list of the food you throw away each week. If you routinely throw away milk because it expires, buy smaller containers. If you always end up tossing bread, purchase half loaves or freeze half the minute you get home with it.
Did you ever see the movie The Incredibles? They have a great family dinner scene where they are eating only leftovers, and everyone is enjoying something different for dinner.
Expiration dates do not mean that a food is unsafe to eat. Most foods, when stored properly are safe several days past the expiration date. As long as it smells ok and tastes ok, it should be fine to eat.
APRIL 2017 | CHARTWELLSMONTHLY.COM
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cuisine / sustainability
Campuses Are Getting
Top left: Lettuce grown at Northland College. Top, bottom right: Northeastern University’s 16th annual “Educate Your Palate” event features innovative recipes with fruits and vegetables. Bottom left: Stetson University students volunteer at the “Hatter Harvest” fundraising dinner.
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CHARTWELLSMONTHLY.COM | APRIL 2017
sustainability / cuisine
STETSON UNIVERSITY
A
t campuses across the country, Chartwells team members
are helping students, faculty and associates eat cleaner, conserve resources and reduce food waste. NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY
Sprouting New Mindsets Northeastern University came “back to its roots,” focusing on plant-based dishes for the 16th annual “Educate Your Palate” on April 20. This signature event united Chartwells’ culinary teams from across the Boston, Massachusetts, campus for an educational dining experience. Guided by the principles of “Menus of Change,” each station featured an innovative interpretation, combining various vegetables and fruits. Some of the favorites: baked red pepper macaroni; tropical bowls topped with grilled salmon, jerk-seasoned chicken or jackfruit; and avocado and raw ahi tuna served in an endive. Along with many tasty samplings, guests could scan the dining space wall columns, which highlighted insightful facts about healthy eating and sustainability. The first 500 Northeastern students who arrived received complimentary passes from Plant Nite to create their own colorful, creative potted gardens. Those who attended EYP received an introduction to the benefits — as well as bountiful flavors — of integrating a plant-forward diet into their daily lives. Forward-thinking vendors who participated, include: New England Made — also creators of the applesauce served in NU residential halls (made with 100-percent apples and zero waste).
Eat, Drink, Give To promote socially responsible food sourcing, Stetson University’s garden, Hatter Harvest, collaborated with Chartwells for a special fund-raising dinner on April 5. This fundraiser helped stabilize the future growth of Hatter Harvest and also promote the “good food” movement. Some 70 members of the Stetson and DeLand, Florida, community gathered for a five-course meal cooked by the local chef-owner of Cress Restaurant, associate professor of mathematics, Hari Pulapaka, and executive chef, Patrick Smallen. While enjoying a delectable, sustainably sourced dinner, attendees watched the 2014 documentary, “Food Chains,” which exposes the harsh working conditions of farmworkers and spotlights the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. As proud members of the Fair Food Program, ensuring “humane wages and working conditions,” this event helped Chartwells and Stetson University underscore the importance of social responsibility and food service. This event also served as a segue to the university’s upcoming “Sustainable Food Studies.” Stetson is preparing to design a new academic program that will focus on the business, culture and politics of food, allowing students to delve into this leading-edge curriculum.
ORANGE YOU TASTY! That juicy citrus is bursting with flavor – if only someone would peel off its unsightly surface. As this Stetson student’s sign conveys on “Stop Food Waste Day,” Compass Group’s Imperfectly Delicious Produce program saves cosmetically flawed produce from being sent to landfills.
Dole & Bailey — a regular meat and seafood supplier for NU, the company’s Chilean salmon was a topper for the tropical bowls. Sid Wainer & Son — supplier of produce items, presented a display of plants, microgreens and an edible flower. APRIL 2017 | CHARTWELLSMONTHLY.COM
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cuisine / sustainability
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDA JOHNSON & WALES UNIVERSITY (N. MIAMI) FLORIDA GULF COAST UNIVERSITY
Viva la Vegan! Making The Grade With peta2 Vegan options are flourishing in Florida. Three universities Chartwells partners with in the Sunshine State have been awarded an “A” or “A+” from peta2 in recent Vegan Report Card audits. The peta2 national organization conducts biannual audits, evaluating various higher-education dining brands on “vegan ingredient integration.” Criteria for the Vegan Report Card includes promoting a 100-percent vegan station, offering at least one vegan entrée at every meal, proper vegan labeling, and including a vegan member on the student advisory board. Chartwells Higher Education is pleased to share its recent positive peta2 scores from these dining teams:
University of North Florida Thanks to Executive Chef Brook Adams, the Osprey Café is renowned for its strong relationship with the university’s on-campus garden, the Ogier Gardens, as well as other programs that promote healthier selections. To further promote its commitment to strict vegetarian offerings at the new Dine on Campus, UNF Dining Services collaborated with the local community and employed social media to spread the word about daily vegan specialties. Recognizing this initiative, peta2 presented North Florida’s dining team with an “A.”
Johnson & Wales University (North Miami) The Mix at Johnson & Wales University has become a cornerstone in health and wellness for the eager culinary minds of tomorrow. Executive Chef Denisse Castillo has quarterbacked a detailed daily vegan menu, highlighted in each station of its dining hall. The Johnson & Wales North Miami team has addressed an astounding 90 percent of the peta2 Vegan Report Card criteria — including its collaboration with a campus vegan advisory board member. This has scored the Mix an “A+” and a “Dean’s List” accreditation with peta2.
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CHARTWELLSMONTHLY.COM | APRIL 2017
Stopping Food Waste at FGCU These Florida Gulf Coast University students have pledged to stop wasting food by composting, educating, finding new ways to use leftovers, and ordering smaller portions.
Florida Gulf Coast University South Village (SoVi) Dining Hall of Florida Gulf Coast University is a comeback story for one of Chartwells Higher Education’s newest accounts. Prior to welcoming Chartwells to campus, Florida Gulf Coast University had a peta2 ranking of “C” — or minimal efforts aligning with peta2’s criteria. After a wellness revitalization of the FGCU Campus Dining experience, last fall SoVi Dining revved up its score to an “A” by proving seven out of 10 necessary action items. With an additional commitment to the Real Food Challenge, led by Sustainability Manager Ashley Farquahar, FGCU Campus Dining is on pace to become a powerhouse in vegan dining significance. Congratulations to these three committed teams who received high marks on peta2’s Vegan Report Cards!
sustainability / cuisine
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA ASHEVILLE
Grooving At Greenfest
Chartwells Dining Services at the University of North Carolina Asheville partnered with student groups, such as the Student Environmental Center and Active Students for a Healthy Environment to host several events during the week-long “Greenfest” held on campus. At the “Local Lunch” event, dining hall patrons enjoyed local farmers’ and purveyors’ early strawberries, crunchy kale and mellow mushrooms while exploring the Asheville movement to “keep it close” and sustainable. Greenfest, hosted each fall and spring, celebrates planting, harvesting, students and community. Ardenne Farm, a company that produces gluten-free baking mixes, was a participant in UNC Asheville’s Greenfest.
Greenfest promoters or participants include these Asheville-area eateries, food businesses and organizations:
• Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project — a group that helps connect farmers to the larger community.
• No Evil Foods — the plant meat from this local partner is featured regularly.
No Evil Foods supplies UNCA with full-flavored plant meats that are environmentally friendly, cruelty free and delicious.
• Mountain Food Products — a food distributor that supplies UNCA with tons of local produce.
• Poppy — a local purveyor of hand-crafted, non-GMO organic popcorn.
• Ardenne Farm — a purveyor of gluten-free baking mixes. • Dynamite Roasting — Local coffee roasted in neighboring Black Mountain.
• The Hop Ice Cream Café — Local ice cream. Getting Greener at UTD
Triple Stars For University of Texas at Dallas Dining Hall West at the University of Texas at Dallas is now a coveted “3-Star Certified Green Restaurant.” The Green Restaurant Association, a national nonprofit organization that provides a cost-effective way for restaurants, manufacturers, distributors and consumers to become more environmentally
responsible, awards this certification. To accomplish this tough feat, Dining Hall West implemented 49 steps in six environmental categories: Energy, Water, Waste, Food, Disposables and Chemicals. Some kudos to cite: Dining Hall West reduced its waste by 50 percent through recycling
(restaurants generate more than 300 million tons of garbage annually), and it is 100-percent Styrofoam-free. UTD is the first public university and second university in the Lone Star State to earn this distinction. Congratulations to the committed green team at UTD! APRIL 2017 | CHARTWELLSMONTHLY.COM
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cuisine / sustainability
NORTHLAND COLLEGE
Wasting Less, Living Better A new food-processing facility at Northland College is revolutionizing how the community receives its sustenance.
GREEN MOUNTAIN COLLEGE
Focus On Carbon “Food Print” Located in picturesque Poultney, Vermont, Green Mountain College has been setting the green standard since 1995. The first college in the nation to achieve climate neutrality through efficiency, clean energy and local carbon offsets, it was also first to be named an EPA Energy Star campus and first to earn a Gold Rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). Chartwells joined GMC’s sustainability journey in 2003, and the college was most recently recognized as “Number 2” in The Princeton Review’s “Top 3 Green College” Honor Roll and again as a regular “Top 10” in Sierra Magazine’s annual “Coolest Schools.” In addition to maintaining a robust recycling and composting program, Green Mountain’s Chartwells team boasts a “3-Star Certified Green Restaurant” and has been a member of the Green Restaurant Association since 2012. Now to ramp-up its sustainable focus with food, GMC Chartwells has started a campus-wide “Carbon Food Print” program. Collaborating with a Green Mountain student project to implement reduced-carbon menus on a regular basis, Chartwells is examining its food sources and its suppliers’ commitments toward sustainability. The team effort began with a student survey, which measured familiarity with what “reduced-carbon” means; polled opinions about increasing low-carbon foods and decreasing high-carbon foods; and assessed whether an overall reduced-carbon menu would be supported. With several “pilot study” dates planned to offer more low-carbon and plant-based dishes, guest input will be tallied. Along with its overall “brighter hue of better,” hopefully the new GMC Chartwells’ “Carbon Food Print” program will also become a national trendsetter in sustainability.
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CHARTWELLSMONTHLY.COM | APRIL 2017
This facility allows Northland, in Ashland, Wisconsin, to compost exponentially more product waste from many local sources — the area hospital, schools and restaurants. It is also helping this college cafeteria reach its goal of serving 80-percent local foods by 2020. Chartwells is working directly with the processing facility to import large quantities of local fruits and vegetables to freeze during the winter months, when local availability is scarce. Another benefit: Staff can maintain employment during the college’s traditionally slow summer months. Housed in the Hulings Rice Food Center, its large, stateof-the-art composter has the capacity to process 64,000 gallons of food waste per year. This results in 1.1 tons of organic product per day (one-third of this being food waste and two-thirds Northland composts bulking agent) – or 5.9 pounds of quality compost per gallon of food waste. And the Don R. and Carole J. GALLONS Larson Food Lab functions not only of food waste as a certified kitchen, but also as a per year laboratory for student education, research and discovery, and as a catalyst for local economic training, education and development. It has the capacity to process and store up to six tons of food per year for Northland’s use.
64,000
In addition to its state-of-the-art composter and food lab, Northland’s Food Systems Center (FSC) includes demonstration gardens and orchards. FSC allows food producers, students and faculty to come together to learn, teach and research issues around food, sustainability and economic vitality in rural communities, like Ashland. For those who attend Northland College or live in the region, it’s a win-win situation. Buying local, and assisting farmers to process and store produce locally, reduces vehicle emissions from transportation, ensures a healthy commitment to the lands of Lake Superior Basin, and builds a strong, sustainable relationship between food, families and farmers.
sustainability / cuisine
Earth Day On Campuses Around the Country MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY Students at Missouri State University were treated to a DIY gardening pack with seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom, a lesson on home gardening from local Springfield Community Gardens and a taste of Chef Tonya Metts’ low-carbon-impact foods.
FROSTBURG UNIVERSITY Guests of Frostburg Dining were invited to take a little bit of green home with them and adopt their own plant. Once a seed was selected it was planted in soil mixed with compost from Frostburg’s in-house A900 Rocket Composter.
TEXAS A&M CORPUS CHRISTI Students enjoyed a variety of fresh produce, pineapple and watermelon agua fresca, chili-lime fruit cups, and live acoustic music during the second annual Islander Farmers Market. During the event, Islander Green team and the Student Volunteer Connection educated students about sustainable growing methods.
MISSOURI S&T Missouri S&T Dining challenged its associates to identify areas around the dining halls with debris or litter during a weeklong clean-up initiative. During their breaks, associates were encouraged take five-minute walks around the location and collect any visible trash.
APRIL 2017 | CHARTWELLSMONTHLY.COM
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Chartwells Higher Education Dining Services • 2 International Drive, Rye Brook, NY 10573 Media interested in any additional details for content published in Chartwells Monthly can contact Meredith Bracken. Meredith.Bracken@compass-usa.com Phone: 914-935-5326 Web: www.ChartwellsHigherEd.com • www.ChartwellsMonthly.com • www.DineOnCampus.com Privacy and Terms of Use All content © Chartwells USA. © 2017 Compass Group USA, Inc. All rights reserved. Chartwells Monthly production by: Kaleidoscopic, Inc. www.kaleidoscopicinc.com
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