1. A step towards a “greener” dining services: procuring locally for the health of students and the earth Jessica Fischer, Nutrition & Dietetics
Marketing Demos
Tracking System Applied to Daily Menu
Introduction
The University of Rhode Island has been making strides to becoming a “greener” campus. The past four years I have spent studying Nutrition & Dietetics has only made me realize how much of an impact we have on the environment when it comes to our diet and our food choices. Dining services especially has the power and resources to manage their eco footprint in small ways.
Discussion/Results
Objectives
Using my tracking system, I calculated the totals of any sustainable affiliations that our food would fall under. This included MSC - Certified Sustainable Seafood, Local, Organic, American Humane Certified, and Antibiotic Free. Dining services can now refer to my tracking system to continue and increase their efforts of procuring local foods, as well as use food vendors with other sustainable practices.
Disclaimer: Data based on available information referring to manufacturers & distributors  headquarters
Beef  - 75% “Local”
Chicken - 31% Antibiotic Free
Eggs - 91% Organic, 8% “Local”, 91% American Humane Certified
Fish -  89% MSC Certified Sustainable Seafood
Clams - 100% “Local”
Pork - 37% “Local”, 18% Antibiotic Free           
Turkey - 77% “Local”
Vegan - 80% “Local”
1. Determine the percentage of foods/produce purchased by URI Dining Services that is considered "local"
2. Develop a tracking system with Dining Services and the contracted vendor to monitor yearly progress of procuring a larger percentage of local foods/produce
3. Develop a "marketing" strategy to bring awareness of Dining Services' efforts to procure locally, as well as other sustainable practices dining services already does
4. Develop a study to assess how marketing foods as “local” increases or decreases students eating habits of those foods
Sustainable Eating Informational Poster