Food Group
Problem 1: The Negative Impact of Our Food

Analysis

Rice University can provide students with a more environmentally sustainable food service through examination of the sources of the University's food.  There are several options available in providing environmentally-friendly food.  Our suggestions include obtaining food from local sources, offering only in-season produce, buying organic produce, and monitoring levels of toxic contaminants.

Criteria

Utilizing local farmers is an eco-conscious option for food input.  Employing local farmers allows for an improved local economy, while the purchaser is allowed access to fresher produce.  Externalities often associated with typical food delivery, such as the costs of transportation, are greatly reduced when the food source is located nearby.  In addition, organic produce is an economically viable alternative to produce contaminated by pesticides, weed killers, and fertilizers.  Organic produce is dropping in price and increasing in availability as the demand grows larger.

Proposal

Despite the success of buying from local food sources at other universities, the use of local food sources is not a viable option for Central Kitchen (hereafter CK).  This is due to the unavoidable higher costs of small farms.  Frank Rodriguez, buyer for CK, recognizes the issue: "From a business prospective, it would be financially unfit" to try to use local/specialty farmers.  The purchasing power of larger companies, who are able to sell produce at bulk rates while allowing small purchase amounts is extremely important to the finances of food service."

Currently, CK buys the majority of our food from Fresh America.  Fresh America is a large franchise and has the buying power to purchase produce from all over the world.  Thus, CK is able to offer many varieties of produce, regardless of season.  Our survey results indicate that many students would be willing to accept a decrease in produce selection in accordance with the typical growing season.  While CK wishes to offer the most selection in its fruit and vegetables offerings, it may be wise to tailor daily offerings to the corresponding season since this often results in higher quality produce.  Rodriguez is aware of the dilemma and agrees with the students in their desire to have more seasonal items.  Varying weather patterns affect the quality of produce so Rodriguez tries to adjust CK's purchase orders to the current quality of the desired items.  More often than not, these variations in quality occur simply because the item is not in season and is being cultivated for select markets.  By monitoring what CK purchases and the season in which particular items are ordered, CK can offer higher quality produce items.

In the future, Rice should look into purchasing organic produce from such sources as Whole Foods (Houston, TX) or Craftsman Farmers (Dripping Springs, TX).  Again, CK representatives have stated that it would not be economically viable for CK to supply organic produce at this time.  However, it is an avenue that Rice should explore for the future, as organics become more popular due their growing affordability.

Problem 2: Waste Reduction

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