The two Food Literacy Coordinators are responsible for organizing initiatives that promote food that is environmentally sound, nutritious, and just. They work on projects that help consumers understand and reflect on the social and environmental implications of food choices and encourage practices that promote food justice.
Projects:
Weigh Your Waste
The “Weigh Your Waste” event emphasizes food waste in the dining hall. It involves publicly weighing students’ food, in hopes of bringing awareness to students and collecting food waste data. This event is currently part of an official research publication led by Kristine Madsen – a Professor at the School of Public Health and the Faculty Director for the Berkeley Food Institute.
Plant Forward Recipe Challenge
Challenging various chefs to create a delicious, plant-based and globally inspired dish with two mandatory ingredients! By receiving student feedback on these plant forward recipes, some of these innovations have been integrated into Cal Dining’s regular menu cycle providing more sustainable dishes for students to enjoy.
Dining Digest
The Dining Digest is a food literacy newsletter to build community between students and Cal Dining, and to provide an appealing, accessible form of food sustainability education for students. Each newsletter has different features: a Cal Dining staff spotlight, a recipe, sustainable ingredients and suppliers served in the dining halls, a HADSA event spotlight, tips on sustainability, and more!
Cooking Demos:
Demonstrating how to make affordable, nutritious and simple recipes for students who are starting to cook for themselves and want some tips! These demos take place within the dining halls, in the residential hall kitchens, on campus, and even at special events such as the CACS summit.
Table Tent Marketing
Table tents will be implemented at the dining halls to educate students on the local, sustainable, and ethical suppliers we utilize in meals – such as Mary’s Chicken, Hodo Tofu, etc.. It will also include information on Carbon Labels, Food Chain Workers, and more. While students eat at the dining halls, we hope that these table tents will catch their attention. We believe that educating students on food will encourage them to be more conscious about what they consume and how much they consume.
