Notes from Just Food’s Meeting with Dining Services - 11 November 2008

In attendance: Maddie Chera, Emily Fero, Tim Dietzler, Ron Anzalone, Chef Werner

Composting Program

Had composted food to local pig farmer for several years prior

• Started using compostable products in the Italian Kitchen and Corner Grille last year
• The products are made mostly of potato starch, PLA (cornstarch), and other plant-derivatives by a company called Ecotainer (ISO 9000) and thought of as reputable
• The products are made in China, but are subject to Clean Air Act regulations
• The products are sent in containerized shipments (lower carbon footprint than other methods) to the West Coast, then they are transported here

Beef fat is rendered, recycled, and sold for cosmetics (investigate this further?)

Now the compost is trucked to a place called Two Particular Acres in Royersford, PA (about 20 miles away), where a company called EnviRelation carries out the rest of the process

• Rick Laudenschlater is the recycling manager for Grounds and he is in charge of transport
• In the process of training staff to prevent cross-contamination, which impedes composting process, and against which they have already received two formal warnings (this is one of several reasons why it would be helpful to go totally compostable)
• Two Particular Acres is starting to appear two small in space and infrastructure to accommodate all the compost we produce now and will be producing if we expand the program

Dining Services and Grounds are no formulating a plan to create a composting program in-house

• Ron Anzalone is heading this plan and pushing for it to be enacted sooner rather than later
• It would be a $160,000 investment – it is a challenge to gain that kind of funding when the university is cutting budgets, but in the long run, it might cut costs (dollar-wise and in real costs [as including costs to the environment, etc.]) and would be in line with Fr. Peter’s Climate Commitment and the University’s Year of Sustainability
• The new system would use eCorect, which would pulp food scraps and compostable items and cook the mixture over a twelve-hour period, after which it would be ready to use as natural fertilizer

Other Efforts

Last year, Dining Services tried out trayless dining in St. Mary’s Dining Hall

• It was a disaster and students were abusive to the staff as a result
• It is a simple concept (just use plates and no trays), but since the buildings are designed for the trays and students seem to be attached to them, implementation has proved more challenging than originally expected
• They will try trayless dining again in January at Donahue Dining Hall

Last year, students in our group (under its former name, SALA, and leadership, 2008 graduate Madeline Dorger) worked with Grounds to create an herb garden outside of Dougherty Hall

• Grounds has informed us that it has not required much upkeep and that most of the herbs are flourishing and proliferating on their own
• We would like to make these fresh and super-local herbs available for use by Dining Services, but certain controls have to be in place in order for the herbs to meet their safety and quality standards
• We discussed a system in which every few days, students could help bundle and clean the herbs needed for the dishes on the menu in the coming days, and Dining Services could inspect and use them

Dining Services is trying to follow the Monterey Bay Seafood Watch guidelines for sustainable and responsible use of fish and has offered information on these standards at its dining locations

Plans for the Future & How We Can Help
Composting

• Publicize project to promote awareness in wider University community
  Student newspapers
• Demo and/or clearer displays in dining locations about basics of composting – what to compost and what not to compost

Herb Garden

• Proposed cleaning and collecting program
• Collecting and drying herbs for the winter
• Check with Grounds about whether they need us to do anything else right now
• Perhaps more gardens could be planted in the future
• Demos on how to use herbs

Facilitation of Communication Between Dining Services and Students

• Blurb for the table tent or napkin holders (about the programs, basics of composting, why do them at all, etc.)
• Advance notice for changes being implemented by Dining Services (about trayless dining, all-compostable, etc.)
• Suggest forums between students and Dining Services