Sodexo intern update #5: composting, local food, and honey in The Commons

Hello again, and I apologize for the delay between this blog post and the last; the environmental scene in Ripon has been keeping me busy.

First thing to cover is that I went to speak at the Ripon city council on November 12^th 2013 to ask for an exemption for educational institutions from the current composting ordinance, which only allows residential composting. The council was receptive to my proposal, and an exception is currently being written to be approved by the city council at a later date. More updates on that in the future, but for now, I am hopeful that Ripon College can begin composting on campus in the spring of 2014.

Additionally, there was a meeting at Fraser Farms, hosted by Dennis and Mary Meyer, to discuss the possibility of a partnership between Ripon College and GrowSureEase. For this meeting, we toured the greenhouse that GrowSureEase uses to grow vegetables during the winter months and saw the different types of plants that he is currently growing there. Then we went to the Meyer’s Christmas tree farm, where we had a delicious vegetarian lunch prepared by Mary that featured fresh greens from their greenhouse and hot apple cider pressed from the apple trees that are on the property. After the fantastic local meal, those in attendance (including President Messitte, Mrs. Messitte, Dean Ogle, Sarjit Singh, and Samara Hamzé) listened to Dennis’s proposal and began a dialogue on the potential for this relationship in the future. Nothing concrete was decided, but it began a discussion about the role of local food on our campus and the importance of connections between the college and community businesses.
Also on the topic of composting, a total of 32 5-gallon buckets of organic material were removed from the Sodexo kitchen in October to be composted at Fraser Farms, with 28 buckets collected during November, and 28.5 buckets in September. So, our total for the fall of 2013 is 442.5 gallons of compostable materials prevented from going to the landfill. (Note: We will temporarily be stopping the collection of compostable materials, since we have no way to continue composting during the cold months, especially now that there is snow on the ground. This is something that we hope to correct in the future, but as of now we are unable to do so.)

One other noteworthy event was the introduction of honey produced by the EGOR hives into the Pickard Commons. Look for it and the sign on the east end of the Commons near the beverages. Also at the beverage stand is the lack of plastic straws that have been replaced with a sign informing students and staff about the negative environmental impact of plastic straws, which are still available at the checker’s stand, but are less accessible, so people make a conscious decision to use or not use a straw.

As the semester winds down, planning for next semester begins, so look forward to the reappearance on minimal-meat Mondays occasionally in the Commons. And stay tuned for more updates on composting and upcoming projects.

Sodexo intern update #3: compost, canning, eating a vegetarian diet, Food Committee, honey, Campus Garden

Last week was for me in terms of environmental sustainability. First, I took seven 5-gallon buckets of fruit and vegetable waste to the GrowSureEase farm to be composted. The previous week, I had delivered five 5-gallon buckets, so the compost pile is growing nicely and it appears that we are having more participation from kitchen staff in using the buckets for compostable materials.  That's  fantastic! Since the start of this semester, I would estimate that we have taken over 20 of the 5-gallon buckets to GrowSureEase (although I don’t have an official count). So, that feels like a great accomplishment to keep that waste out of landfills and to continue doing so in the future.

 At the Fraser farm, I met Seth Winkel, who has taken a class on how to do canning and is interested in working with Ripon College students to can some left-over tomatoes from the GrowSureEase farm. So, if there is anyone reading this blog that would be interested in something like that, feel free to email me at WelzenK@ripon.edu. We will hopefully be canning some tomatoes in the form of salsa on Sunday, September 29.

On a different note, I unintentionally ate in the style of a ‘meatless Monday’ yesterday; something that is far rarer for me than perhaps it should be. By doing so, I realized how easy it actually could be if one consciously decides to do so, even for a day. On that note, I have to pause to give all vegetarians and vegans kudos, because I don’t think that is something I could do every day. To all the omnivores out there who may be reading this: I challenge you to eat vegetarian for a day (or if you’re feeling particularly ambitious, eat only vegan-friendly foods for a day). You might be surprised by how easy (or difficult) it may be for you, or perhaps expand your horizons a bit. For me, it made me question why I normally eat meat every day. Is it the options we are presented? An unconscious habit? Taste preference? And perhaps the most important question: how can I change this? 

The Pickard Commons will most likely soon be making some changes in terms of the food it serves, with the implementation of a student-run ‘Food Committee’ in which student representatives meet with Sarj, Dean Ogle, and Melissa Bemus to discuss what changes theyt would like to see in on-campus dining halls.

In other sustainability news, look for a bottle of honey from the bees that EGOR keeps on campus to appear in the Commons within the next month. More on that when it happens and the student response to it.

Oh, and don’t forget to head down to the Campus Garden to pick any produce that you want! There are still many tomatoes to pick, so go enjoy.

               

Sodexo Intern update #2

This past week, I spent time visiting the Pub and the Terrace to see what they are doing to make the dining areas on campus as sustainable as possible. Both the Pub and Terrace, which are fast-food style locations, send out a fair amount of waste via transport containers for the food they serve. This, in many ways, is unavoidable, but the environmental impact can be minimized via the materials used to make these containers. An example of this: the large salad containers in the Terrace and the condimentcups in the Pub are currently compostable. In addition, both locations produce minimal waste since they are designed to be self-serve and made-to-order dining locations. Both locations recycle cardboard and other recyclables, such as metal cans.

In regards to the Commons, I visited the GrowSureEase (aka Fraser Farms) to talk with the owner, Dennis Meyer, about the composting collaboration between the Sodexo kitchen on campus and his farm. Organic waste (mainly the scraps from fruits and vegetables) are collected in 5-gallon buckets around the Commons’ kitchen and stored before being transported to farm once a week or so. Their operation has several compost piles that are turned to meet standards for organic food and then used in the fertilization of their plants. Fraser Farm has two greenhouses, three beehives, and several types of plants growing outdoors. It is a great place to visit and buy local produce!

In continuation, the Commons is continuing to improve recycling efforts, with the use of four designated and labeled recycling bins (with clear plastic bags to arrive soon). A paper recycling bin was also added to the office area in the Commons to increase recycling in the offices, and a system for recycling the aerosol cans (for non-stick purposes) used in the kitchen has been implemented in cooperation with the Plant department.

In other news, check out the next edition of the College Days (our campus paper) for more sustainability tips and news. There is an article by yours truly on tips to being more environmentally friendly. Until next time!

Links in order:

http://www.hoffmaster.com/OurProducts/EarthWiseTreeFree.aspx

https://www.facebook.com/pages/GrowSureEase-LLC/201411256574802

Update from Sodexo sustainability intern

Check out the update on sustainability in The Commons.  Sodexo intern, Kaitlyn Welzen, writes about initiatives already in place:  recycled napkins, fair-trade tea and coffee, trayless service; as well as programs under way:  composting and worker education and purchase of local, organic food in The Commons, and a Campus Farmers Market.  She has several opportunities for student involvement. Interested in being on the Food Council?  Get in touch with Kaitlyn <welzenk@ripon.edu> and find out more!

Recent pictures from the campus garden. Talk about local food!

Campus Sustainability has a new home

Campus Sustainability is off to a busy start.  On Thursday of this week I met with the new Sodexo intern for Sustainability, Kaitlyn Welzen (WelzenK@ripon.edu).  It was great hearing about the work she intends to be doing as the intern. I'm sure there will be at least one post dedicated solely to her.  However, for a preview, here's the focus of the work she'll be starting this semester:

• Initiating a Food Council in the residence halls. This will be a forum where dorm residents can meet with her to give her feedback on the food service on campus and get to comment or preview the upcoming menus.  Here's a great chance to get your voice heard!
• Currently organic waste is collected in some of the prep areas in The Commons kitchen. Kaitlyn, who also has worked for Sodexo, will work to educated those doing the prep work on what is compostable and set up clearly labeled compost bins and a bin storage area. During the growing season, the campus compost is taken to Frasier Farms right here in Ripon.  Even though you won't see composting in the dining rooms this semester, it is happening in the prep areas.  If you're interested in helping us quantify how much food is being composted, please get in touch with the Coordinator or Kaitlyn.
• Finally, Kaitlyn will be working on putting in place a process for donating unused and pre-made food to area food banks.

These are ambitious goals, but certainly attainable. This really is an exciting time to be working on food-related topics here on campus. (See pictures of the delicious food growing on campus)

After meeting with Kaitlyn I had the privilege of presenting the mission and activities of Campus Sustainability to this year's Orientation Committee (the talk I gave can be found here).  What a great group of students. There are now 34 additional students on campus who know about sustainability and who will help get out the message about reducing our carbon footprint using common sense actions.  I hope these students will stay in touch and keep bringing me their ideas.

Also on Thursday, Campus Sustainability found a home on campus.  The office of the Sustainability Coordinator is in 207 Smith Hall.

Finally, before leaving campus, I swung by the Facilities building to drop off some more Single-Stream recycling labels to be used on containers around campus. While there I took a look (and then a walk) around the campus garden.  It is bursting with tomatoes and cucumbers. The pumpkins are looking adorable. It will be so fun to harvest them come October. The garden is largely the work of Kaitlyn Welzen (yep, same one who is interning at Sodexo). The fruit trees planted  over the last few years by the fine folks at Facilities are starting to bear fruit. I can't wait to taste the different apple varieties.

Cute pumpkins... growing... growing

Apples starting to ripen

Cherry tomatoes by the dozen

Modest harvest of cucumbers and tomatoes that needed picking.  Gazpacho anyone?