Problem 1: The Negative Impact of Our Food
The following information contains specific facts that are relevant to Rice University's Food Service program. Our reference list provides extensive resources to obtain more in-depth information and statistics.
Bates College (Kimball, pp. 3-10)
Bates is located in Lewiston, Maine with a student population
of 1,500. This size is comparable to Rice's student body.
The Bates' Food Initiative was established by the Campus Environmental
Issues Committee, composed of students, faculty, and staff.
The Bates enacted three waste reduction tactics which could be applicable
to Rice. They donated leftover food to homeless shelters, shipped
compostable materials to a local farm, and installed an industrial
size strainer into their sinks to eliminate a substantial amount
of food waste. Within six months the College composted 34,000
pounds of pre-consumer waste.
Hendrix College (Valen, pp. 77-87)
Hendrix is located in Conway, Arkansas, with an even smaller
student body of 1,000 students.Hendrix established their program
with the help of the Meadowcreek Project. They experienced
challenges that could possibly occur at Rice. They had difficulty
c ommunicating with the kitchen staff as well as educating the student
body. Hendrix resolved these challenges by hiring a coordinator
to work with the kitchen staff, developing a solid rapport through
which new cooking methods and recipes could be communicated.
Students are educated through flyers, table tents, discussions, forums,
and newspaper articles.
SUNY Buffalo (SUNY Buffalo Webpage)
New York State University in Buffalo found that composting on
campus produced a disturbing odor. The University's solution
to this common composting problem was to limit their on-campus composting
site to one small section of the campus that is far from populated
areas.
The Meadowcreek Project (Keniry, pp. 85-109)
The Meadowcreek Project, located in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas,
was founded by Oberlin College professor David Orr. It serves
as a resource center to high-schools and universities developing
environmentally sustainable communities. The center included
an on-site organic farm which demonstrates the current technology used
in farming organic produce.
Problem 1: The Negative Impact of Our Food