The University of California Santa Cruz’s (UCSC) Dining Services is dedicated to creating a sustainable food system and has made it their mission to decrease energy consumption and water use, reduce solid waste and water waste, and implement a Farm-to-Fork program. Dining Services’ goal was to create both a dining experience that is fundamentally based on a sustainable food system, and one that also provides fresh, healthy and tasty food to its 15,000 students.
Reducing Water and Energy Use
The day-to-day operation of running UCSC requires an exorbitant amount of water and energy, but the university was determined to identify and eliminate areas where energy and water were being wasted.
To conserve energy, Dining Services teamed up with PG&E to replace incandescent lighting, exit signs and older-style T12 ballasts with more energy-efficient alternatives. As a result, the university saved an estimated 82,900 kilowatts per year, which translates into a saving of nearly $10,000 annually. For its efforts, the university also received a $26,500 rebate from PG&E that will fund future sustainable Dining Services projects.
Additionally, UCSC updated its purchasing practices to mandate that only ENERGY STAR® qualified equipment be purchased. Dining Services now uses 56 ENERGY STAR rated appliances that have resulted in significant energy saving. The fryers use 50 percent less gas; the refrigerators use 35 percent less electricity; steam kettles use 50 percent less gas and 35 percent less electricity; and the hot boxes save 405 kWh annually per box, which translates to a per-box annual saving of $544.
The university also purchased eight electric carts to transport food and employees between buildings. The carts have reduced the need to use the larger gas-powered vehicles. As a result of its environmental stewardship and in compliance with EPA standards, UCSC has been recognized by the city of Santa Cruz as the first certified Green Business. This rigorous review consists of over 150 critical criteria focusing on pollution prevention, energy, water and solid-waste conservation.
Trashing Trays Reduces Waste by 32 Percent
Aside from purchasing energy-efficient equipment, the university has implemented programs to make its foodservice operations more environmentally friendly. Dining Services launched its “Trayless Tuesday” campaign, in which trays are removed from one of the university’s five dining halls. After conducting post-lunch audits, the university determined that food waste for the day was reduced by 32 percent when trays were not used. The university also determined that it could save thousands of gallons of water each month by going completely trayless. In addition to saving water, the university could also save on cleaning chemicals and water heating costs. The test program proved so successful that the university eliminated all trays with the fall 2008 school year.
Environmentally Friendly Answers to Waste
Dining Services understands the importance of using green products and composting and recycling to minimize the impact on the environment. As a result, Dining Services uses compostable paper products and flatware made from corn, which are 100 percent biodegradable and compostable. The university implemented a pilot composting program in which kitchen scraps are collected from four of its five dining halls and transported to the Vision Composting Project. In the future, the university intends to extend this composting program to all of its dining facilities.
To reduce food waste, Dining Services has implemented an inventory analysis to adjust perishable food levels to significantly reduce spoilage or dehydration. Meal portion sizes are adjusted when food is consistently uneaten, and hourly and daily production charts are used to minimize over-preparation and unnecessary food waste.
The university also finds productive uses for food instead of throwing it away. Vegetable and meat scraps are used for soup stock, and grease, fat and unused cooking oils are recycled for other uses, such as biodiesel fuel. Other perishable food is donated to a local food bank. When food must be thrown away, it is converted to a slurry via a pulper. Using pulpers, UCSC has reduced cubic yards of waste collection in dumpsters by two-thirds. The university has also eliminated five gallons of grease a day from entering the wastewater system by using a bucket to dispose of grease instead of rinsing it down the drain.
Buying Locally Through Farm-to-Fork Program
UCSC purchases $6.9 million in food supplies yearly. By buying locally whenever possible, Dining Services keeps revenue in the local economy. It also provides for fresher, higher quality vine-ripened produce and reduces the university’s carbon footprint.
In addition to purchasing locally, Dining Services strives to purchase direct, certified organic, certified fair trade and worker-supportive food products. Approximately 24 percent of Dining Services’ produce is organic, and 61 percent of that is directly purchased from local ALBA (Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association) farmers. These organic crops do not introduce chemicals into the environment, and they give students fresh, pollutant-free and nutritious produce, which leads to delicious, healthier food.
Aside from purchasing produce and crops from local farmers, the university also runs its own farm. The UCSC farm supplies Dining Services with organically grown produce. Buying from its own farm eliminates the need to transport produce to campus and keeps revenue in our own economy and thus supports the research and education of sustainable farming practices.
On the Horizon
UCSC has several additional sustainable programs in the works, including utilizing reusable containers for all to-go meals served, hydration stations to reduce disposable plastic water bottles and installing solar-powered trash compactors. Dining Services is also investigating more vegetarian-based menu items.
The university makes it a point to educate its students on its sustainability programs and the impact the programs have in the hopes that students embrace these values and pay it forward as they move on with their post-college lives.
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