Written by Office of Sustainability student associate, Faith Phillips, Class of 2024. According to Feeding America, almost 120 billion pounds of food go to waste annually which equates to over 40% of all food in America. At WashU, two groups on campus are doing their part to decrease food waste in St. Louis and instead […]
Washington University takes its commitment to eating locally sourced and sustainable food seriously, as seen by collaborations with dining partners, the medical campus farmers market, and the WashU community supported agriculture (CSA) program. The WashU CSA program is in partnership with HOSCO (Holistic Organic Sustainable Cooperatives), a not-for-profit committed to food justice in St. Louis. […]
“The energy in the air and happiness was palpable, stretching throughout the entirety of the Danforth Campus,” senior director of Commencement and Convocation, Michelle Gelven, reflected on WashU’s 162nd Commencement. The day was memorable for a number of exciting reasons. Esteemed guests addressed the graduating classes: Emmy Award-winning actor and St. Louis native, Sterling K. […]
Written by Communications Associate, Jarea Fang Take-out meals are the best of both worlds, a heavenly combination of restaurant food and the comfort of your own home. The demand for take-out has especially increased since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, when physical distancing became the norm. Striking a balance between disease prevention and reducing […]
Written by Communications Associate, Jarea Fang It is a common trait among college students to love free food, which is probably why free food is present at almost all campus events. While hilarious, it’s also important to consider that a college student’s love of free food may be more complicated than we think, as food […]
Written by Communications Associate, Jarea Fang Food, in more ways than one, brings people together. Whether by eating, preparing, or shopping together, food is an integral part of society’s daily functions. Changing our food habits, even modestly, allows individuals to make significant impacts on the environment. According to Project Drawdown’s Table of Solutions, which outlines plausible […]
Written by Office of Sustainability Student Associate, Jarea Fang, Class of 2022 As the daffodils, cherry blossoms, and tulips start to bloom on the Danforth campus, the WashU community is once again reminded of our world’s beauty. WashU’s Earth Week has already passed, but campus is still buzzing with activity as students and staff alike […]
Starting April 7th, WashU will launch a partnership with HOSCO as its new Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) provider. HOSCO (Holistic Organic Sustainable Cooperatives), is a sustainable not-for-profit business incubator model for food production, entrepreneurship and apprenticeship training. Their mission is to significantly increase access of local foods while creating jobs and economic development by […]
Written by Office of Sustainability Student Associate, Jarea Fang, Class of 2022 According to the Green Dining Alliance, which certifies and promotes St. Louis restaurants in their sustainability practices including three WashU dining outlets, taking care of your staff is one important hallmark of a green restaurant. This has never been more present today, as […]
Written by Office of Sustainability student associate, Jarea Fang A new year often means a chance to start anew, and for many, new year resolutions involve staying healthy – whether it be through exercise, self-care routines, or by eating more nutrient-packed food. As the COVID-19 pandemic persists, it is especially important that we choose our […]
If you take a tour of the average grocery store, chances are that you will see illustrations of trees and leaves, maybe vern waterfalls and birds lurking in branding of many food products. A closer look reveals that they also have words like “natural,” “eco-friendly,” or “fresh” splashed across their label. Though you are not […]
Coffee is a luxury good, yet the average person living in the United States drinks around two cups a day. In 2010, 5,600 paper cups were disposed of every day at WashU, most of which were coffee cups. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the carbon footprint of drinking […]
This article has been updated by Communications Associate Jarea Fang for recirculation in December 2022. Whether you are celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or just the winter vacation, the holiday season is upon us. It is time for traveling, gift-giving, and big feasts. We hope that you will have a good time, no matter when or […]
The mission of Burning Kumquat, a student-run organic garden at Washington University in St. Louis, is “sharing the joy of freshly picked vegetables with the world.” While the “world” — with the closure of campus due to the COVID-19 pandemic — has gotten smaller, the mission has not, thanks to faculty fellows and their families. When […]
Updated February 2022: Bear Bites is no longer running and there is no plan to reopen. Dining Services maintains the Food Security Fund to ensure no students go without meals. Any questions regarding the Food Security Fund can be directed to diningservices@wustl.edu. According to a 2018 study published by Bon Appetit Management Company – WashU’s […]
Observing the stay-at-home order during the coronavirus pandemic requires individuals to do whatever they can to remain at home and limit travel to necessities: acquiring food and medical care, and going to work for “essential” workers and front-line healthcare staff. As a result, going to the grocery can become an exotic pleasure – the one […]
During these trying times, our valued green catering partners have had to close down their dine-in options and have lost the bulk of their business as events and in-person meetings are canceled or hosted remotely. They now rely more than ever on the catering, delivery and take-out opportunities we can send their way. We wish […]
In the wake of the recent UN Youth Summit, the UN Climate Action Summit, the Global Climate Strike, and the UN Climate Change Conference (COP25) happening right now in Madrid, Spain, it’s clear that climate change is on the minds of people all over the world. When it comes to climate action, discussions tend to […]
Food Week 2019 brought to WashU a number of important conversations about the food we eat. Where does our food come from? What does local and sustainable really mean? What is the true cost of food? On October 22, a number of local farmers including Crystal Stevens (FLOURISH), Tyrean Lewis (Heru Urban Farming), Preston Walker […]
In late 2017, the Whittemore House earned certification with the Green Dining Alliance, receiving a 5-star award for its “exemplary understanding and performance of sustainable practices.” In addition to recognizing restaurants for their sustainability efforts, the Green Dining Alliance (GDA) encourages and facilitates steady progress toward low-impact practices and efficient use of resources. Audits are conducted […]
“To the chickens!” is now a common phrase used in the Clinical Translational Research Unit (CTRU) Metabolic Research Kitchen. This refers to the food scraps produced by the kitchen operations that are thrown into bright green 5-gallon buckets and saved for the chickens at Howie Farms, one of the vendors from the School of Medicine […]
The Facilities Operations office at the School of Medicine has started a new tradition of celebrating Green Monday with an office lunch! The office members were inspired to participate in Green Monday because of their personal dedication to making sustainable choices and because it fits in with the culture created from being a certified Green Office. For the […]
The Burning Kumquat is the on-campus, student run, organic garden located right next door to the Alumni House on the South 40. During the school year, the farm functions as a student club involving members pitching in at workdays and selling produce at DUC markets. But in the summer, when most students are gone and […]
On April 1, a mix of professors, St. Louis residents, and students joined the Office of Sustainability and student group Net Impact in their kickoff event for Earth Week. The event was aptly called “Can Edible Insects Sustain the World?” and brought in Sarah Schlafly, co-founder of Mighty Cricket (local cricket-product company) to talk about […]
Improving food access for the city’s most vulnerable residents is one of the top priorities for the St. Louis Food Policy Coalition (STLFPC), a formal multi-stakeholder entity housed within the Missouri Coalition for the Environment (MCE). As part of this mission, MCE released the St. Louis Food Access Story Map to illustrate the patterns of […]
On the night of February 13th, Graham Chapel was packed with students anticipating the words of speaker Dr. Vandana Shiva, world-renowned environmental activist focused on GMOs, intellectual property rights, bioethics, women’s rights, and agriculture worker conditions in India and around the world. The talk came as a part of the Trending Topics series and brought […]
Since last fall, campus-wide efforts toward sustainability have taken hold at WashU. Thanks to successful partnerships with Bon Appétit, student groups, the Green Dining Alliance and the Office of Sustainability, WashU Dining Services has recently reached some notable milestones. Ibby’s Receives Top-Tier Sustainability Certification Last October, WashU Dining Services went through the process of certifying […]
Noah Offenkrantz is a junior majoring in Global Health and the Environment. Enrolling in the Environmental Studies community internship program last fall, he had the chance to work directly with the Restorative Justice Movement Center (RJMC) on the creation of a garden for the Center’s community. The RJMC is a non-profit organization in North St. Louis […]
[Photo Credit: residentialwastesystems.com] It’s the holiday season – the time of pretty lights, gift-giving and family feasts. While we truly love it, we also know that it’s the time when we tend to consume excessively, creating waste and using greater quantities of energy. Remember, the greenest thing you can do is consume less! From […]
Every day, between 170 million and 390 million straws are used and thrown out in the United States (according to a recent New York Times fact check). Overall, over 8 million metric tons of plastic makes its way into our oceans every year, killing marine life that ingests it, introducing dangerous toxins into the food chain. Student […]
[Photo Credit: residentialwastesystems.com] It’s the holiday season – the time of pretty lights, gift-giving and family feasts. While we truly love it, we also know that it’s the time when we tend to consume excessively, creating waste and using greater quantities of energy. Remember, the greenest thing you can do is consume less! From gift […]
Back after a period of dormancy, the WU Beekeepers are abuzz with activity once again. Sophomore Kane Koubsky re-started the club last spring, and now leads alongside sophomore treasurer Lucas Dionisopoulos. Koubksy, the club president, started beekeeping the summer before college and came to WashU with the goal of revitalizing the club and sharing his […]
This September, WashU Dining Services challenged its chefs to buy and cook even more local and seasonal foods than usual. Two remarkable sustainable food programs initiated by WashU’s main dining provider Bon Appetit Management Company, made their way to campus. The One Ton Tomato Challenge In the United States, more than 20% of the fruits […]
Marc Zornes graduated from WashU in 2004 with a degree in Entrepreneurship and Computer Science. In addition to working with the U.S. Green Building Council and McKinsey & Company, Marc is best known for his founding of Winnow Solutions. Winnow aims to help businesses like hotels, restaurants, and cruise lines reduce their food waste […]
Washington University in St. Louis is being recognized nationally for its institution-wide sustainability efforts: the school recently earned a gold STARS rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). STARS (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System) measures and encourages sustainability in all aspects of higher education. The university also landed in […]
“The Last Straw” for Bon Appétit The School of Medicine campus has two major dining facilities – Shell Café in McDonnell Medical Sciences Building and Farmstead Café in McDonnell Pediatric Research Building. Both of these cafés are operated by Bon Appétit Management Company, a full food-service management company based in Palo Alto, CA. Sustainability is […]
The Burning Kumquat is the on-campus, student run, organic garden located right next door to the Alumni House on the South 40. During the school year, the farm functions as a student club involving members pitching in at workdays and selling produce at DUC markets. But in the summer, when most students are gone and […]
Spring has finally arrived in St. Louis and Dave Smith of Local Farmer CSA is excited for the new produce and beautiful weather the season brings. It’s a great time for WashU community members to check out the CSA and Farmer’s Market offerings. Each season brings new produce in the weekly farm boxes and at […]
Producing a quarter pound hamburger requires 450 gallons of water and emits 6.5 pounds of greenhouse gases, according to the Center for Investigative Reporting. With the introduction of the blended burger, Dining Services is helping cut those numbers in half. A relatively recent addition to the grill stations at the Danforth University Center (DUC) and […]
As you walk up Wallace Drive from the South 40, there is a peculiar sight tucked into the landscape on your right. Tubes coming out of trees and emptying into large white buckets are almost reminiscent of an alien harvesting scene if you don’t know that they are for tapping the maple trees for sap […]
Tim Biello graduated from WashU in 2002, where he studied anthropology and biology. He now runs Featherbed Lane Farm located in the Eastern part of New York State, just north of the capital, Albany. Born in St. Louis, Tim taught environmental education and did trail work before setting his sights on owning and operating his own farm […]
Whittemore House, Washington University’s Faculty Conference Center, offers an exceptional menu for breakfast, lunch and special events to their 1,045 members and their guests. They have recently earned additional distinction as a certified-sustainable dining establishment through the Green Dining Alliance (GDA), earning 5-star recognition of its sustainable operations. A program of the non-profit organization St. […]
It’s official! Local Farmer CSA, in partnership with the Office of Sustainability and the Department of Human Resources, now offers CSA (Community Shared Agriculture) Crop Boxes on Danforth campus! Farmer Dave Smith will set up his farm van and a mini market every other Wednesday from 4:00 to 6:00 PM in the Music Library parking […]
Applications for open internship positions with the Office of Sustainability and affiliated partners are now posted. The deadline to apply is November 12. In-person application reviews are available through November 10. Food Associate – 1 positions AVAILABLE The Office of Sustainability seeks to foster a food system that advances environmental and public health while supporting […]
Background of the WashU CSA program For several years, Washington University’s Office of Sustainability and Human Resources Department have partnered with Local Farmer CSA to offer staff, faculty, and students the opportunity to receive a weekly or bi-weekly Crop Box filled with locally grown produce, fruit, meat, cheeses, yogurt and/or other artisan goods. Signing up […]
This Monday, the Bottomless Mug program has returned to all dining facilities serving coffee on campus. Thanks to an ongoing partnership between Bon Appetit and WashU Dining Services, coffee drinkers can save money and prevent hundreds of disposable coffee cups from going to the landfill by buying a “Bottomless Mug”, providing unlimited access to fresh […]
Last spring, Washington University’s Office of Sustainability and Human Resources Department partnered to offer a second pick up location for a community supported agriculture (CSA) program provided by Local Farmer CSA. The pick up at the West Campus parking garage is an option that builds on a very successful model that has been operational at the […]
The WashU Green Ambassador (WUGA) Program is a student-managed, peer-education program supported by the Office of Sustainability that orients new students to the sustainability initiatives on WashU’s campus. WUGAs play a critical role in training first year student to adopt behaviors that align with WashU’s culture of sustainability, behaviors that they will carry with them during […]
Green Cleaners Finding environmentally-friendly cleaning products can be incredibly confusing from the glut of “green” advertising, especially around products often used in the home. However, third party certifications usually indicate that a product’s self-claimed sustainable promotions are trustworthy. Green Seal, Safer Choice, EcoLogo, and Design for the Environment are some of the most well-known certifications […]
WashU’s annual energy reduction and sustainability competition has come to a close! Green Cup is a four-week competition to reduce energy use among South 40 Residential Colleges, North Side housing, fraternities, and the School of Medicine’s Olin Dorm and Farrell Learning and Teaching Center (in four separate leagues). Throughout February, leagues competed to reduce their energy […]