CSUN’s goal is to provide sustainable food choices that are healthy and delicious in its on campus food service locations.
Main Strategies
- Increase sustainable campus food sources
- Increase the availability of fresh, healthy vegetarian/vegan options on campus
- Provide nutrition and sustainability information for foods from campus food services
Objectives for 2023
- Expand sourcing of sustainable foods
- Expand the selection of healthy foods
- Provide nutrition and sustainability information for foods from campus food services
2018-19 Priorities and Outcomes
- Begin sourcing herbs and produce locally from campus gardens.
- Cilantro, oregano and mint are being grown at the Marilyn Magaram Center and Institute for Sustainability gardens for use in CSUN Dining facilities. To date, 7.6 pounds of oregano, 9.2 pounds of cilantro and 7 pounds of mint have been harvested.
- Host one sustainability-themed meal per semester.
- CSUN Dining participated in removing meat options from their Freudian Sip locations campus-wide for both Water Day and Sustainability Day as meat takes a lot of water and energy to produce.
- Increase percentage of expenditures on Real Food.
- CSUN Dining is continuing to work towards the 20% Real Food goal, however making progress has been a challenge. A new system for improving dining sustainability will be investigated next year.
Other Highlights
- Earth Fair 2019 featured plant-based samples of various dishes from CSUN Dining.
- CSUN Food Pantry launched their Pop-up Pantry to engage more students and increase visibility of the program.
- The CSUN Food Pantry served 4,300 unique students with over 21,000 lbs. of food , 2,320 lbs. of which was fresh produce grown on campus or donated by local community organizations.
- In an effort to fight hunger and food waste, during the Spring Orange Pick over 3,040 pounds of oranges were harvested and donated to SOVA Community Food and Resource Program and the CSUN Food Pantry.
- The Food Recovery Network recovered over 6,500 pounds of food, which fed hungry students and community members.
2019-20 Priorities
- Investigate the Green Restaurant Certification program for CSUN Dining locations.
- Promote plant-based dining options.
- Host one sustainability-themed meal per semester.
- Work with franchise dining locations to improve sustainable practices including menu options and operations.
To connect directly to the CSUN Dining Green Projects page click here.
Sustainable Vendors
Issue:
DS1.1
Priority:
1
Strategy:
Research vendors that can provide sustainably sourced supplies
Status:
MMC is working with CSA. Produce is from Underwood Family Farms.
F Sip uses Ground Works an LA based Certified Organic Roaster & Fair Trade.
TUC is determining their vendors supply, the Real Food Challenge will help with this effort.
Party Responsible:
TUC, IS, MMC
Next/Action Items:
In-progress. Explore sustainable food vendors and evaluate opportunities for purchasing power through local CSU’s.
Franchise Food Sources
Issue:
DS1.2
Priority:
1
Strategy:
Research the sourcing of on campus food franchises.
Status:
All service ware was converted to paper products. Subway is converting to paper bags. El Pollo Loco to make adjustment to packaging their to-go orders to reduce the use of plastic bags and cutlery, changing to a single utensil option vs prepackaged plastic wrapped set.
Party Responsible:
TUC
Next/Action Items:
In-progress. Investigate other franchise food service locations and improve their operations.
Purchase Recommendations
Issue:
DS1.3
Priority:
1
Strategy:
Formulate recommendations for consideration by purchasing and contracting personnel
Status:
In-progress.
Party Responsible:
TUC
Next/Action Items:
In-progress: TUC- Determine who the sustainable vendors are. Then make recommendations.
Use Sustainable Vendors
Issue:
DS1.4
Priority:
1
Strategy:
Increase the percentage of sustainably sourced foods offered by CSUN dining services
Status:
TUC is currently using: Family Tree, Ground Works, Driftwood farms. All chicken purchased is antibiotic and hormone free chicken. Free range chicken.
Party Responsible:
TUC
Next/Action Items:
In-progress: TUC will research alternative/additional vendors including United Natural Foods Incorporated (UNFI) as an alternative to SYSCO.
CSA Program
Issue:
DS1.5
Priority:
1
Strategy:
Increase the presence of the CSA program on campus
Status:
CSA has 22 current members, one more than last year. Box pick up is from 3pm-6pm on Tuesdays. This program has a capacity of 60 participants.
Party Responsible:
IS, MMC
Next/Action Items:
On-going: Evaluate ways to expand program.
Fresh Produce
Issue:
DS1.6
Priority:
3
Strategy:
Increase amount of fresh produce sold for students living on-campus
Status:
Farmers Market now on campus.
Party Responsible:
TUC
Next/Action Items:
On-going. Increase the attendances and purchases at the Farmers Market
Salad Bars
Issue:
DS2.1
Priority:
2
Strategy:
Expand salad bars to more campus dining facilities
Status:
There are no plans to expand the salad bars at OGB, G'Mos and Sierra Center. Every location has salads to order.
Party Responsible:
TUC
Next/Action Items:
No further action.
Healthy Vegetarian Options
Issue:
DS2.2
Priority:
1
Strategy:
Develop and introduce more healthy, vegan/vegetarian option in campus dining facilities
Status:
Campus Food Report was completed 1/26/15 and highlights healthy vegan and vegetarian options at various locations.
Party Responsible:
TUC
Next/Action Items:
G'Mos to provide report on their healthy and vegetarian options.
Collaborative Program
Issue:
DS1.1
Priority:
1
Strategy:
Research vendors that can provide sustainably sourced supplies
Status:
MMC is working with CSA. Produce is from Underwood Family Farms.
F Sip uses Ground Works an LA based Certified Organic Roaster & Fair Trade.
TUC is determining their vendors supply, the Real Food Challenge will help with this effort.
Party Responsible:
TUC, IS, MMC
Next/Action Items:
In-progress. Explore sustainable food vendors and evaluate opportunities for purchasing power through local CSU’s.
Food Labeling
Issue:
DS3.1
Priority:
2
Strategy:
Design a labeling standard for food offerings to be used throughout campus dining. This could be done through a cooperative effort between the TUC and the Magaram Center. This may require the expansion of the digital menu boards being utilized in some dining facilities.
Status:
Computrition Menu Management software is a new module that displays info on food items, ingredients, calories, etc. This will be rolled out at G’Mos.
Party Responsible:
TUC, MMC, IS
Next/Action Items:
In-progress.
