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Sustainability is often associated with pollution and global climate change, but the student diet will also be under the microscope.
Sodexho and the Sustainable Idaho Initiative will co-sponsor a Web conference to explore sustainability considerations in campus dining services.
Chris Dixon is a representative of Sustainable Idaho as well as an academic adviser for environmental science. She acknowledges that food service isn’t always the first thing associated with sustainability, but is glad to see the connection between the two being made at UI.
“It’s encouraging to see the campus food services taking an active role,” Dixon said. “We are seeing national groups looking for a better way to do food on campus and there are a lot of things to consider.”
According to Dixon, Sustainable Idaho is about fully addressing all facets of sustainability, which includes how a community eats — from the use of biodegradable utensils to the foods journey to the kitchen.
“The main thing I would love to see is how far the campus food travels, how much gas is used to feed the school — just think about the carbon emissions it must take,” Dixon said.
Darin Saul, the sustainability coordinator, said that a main part of these campus events is keeping these topics on the radar. Besides focusing on consuming fair trade goods, Saul also addresses eating locally and organically.
“I remember a study that said the average bite of food travels 1,000 miles from where it’s produced, which uses a huge amount of fuel,” Saul said. “I’m not trying to say the existing system is bad, but we can always improve our collaborating.”
Both Dixon and Saul said they would like to see the greater use of local farms to decreases the travel of food. They also said they hoped to see an increase in organic foods.
Currently, campus dining has an agreement with Soil Stewards, a group of organic growers on campus, for some produce.
Jerry Curtis, the general manager for campus dining, said that the UI food services does plan to continually look at how to efficiently integrate sustainability into dining options. This includes reducing and managing waste properly and monitoring the type of foods being used.
“I’m not saying we’ll see changes in two or 10 years,” Curtis said. “But eventually we’re gonna have to be entirely organic, that’s just where the trends are taking us. Eventually, we’ll see more organic vendors than non, and at that point it’ll be the only option.”
Idaho’s number of organic farmers is growing, and to Dixon this is an added reason to look into buying within the Palouse.
“I think the strength of having an organization like Sodexho behind you is that it opens up different avenues,” Dixon said. “Buying things like fruits and vegetables in bulk could cause the price to go down, then its feasible.”
However, Curtis said that the cost and process of accreditation for organic farmers makes the food more expensive.
The Web conference will look at these topics as well as what initiatives will best suit the UI. Dixon hopes that with the help of food services, a comprehensive proposal can be made to better campus dining.
Open to students, the conference will take place from 10-11:30 a.m. in the Crest Room, on the fourth floor of the Idaho Commons.
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