The University of Utah has committed to include more “real” food on campus.
For food to qualify as “real,” it needs to meet qualifications in at least one of four categories: local, ecologically sound, fair to workers and humane to animals. Right now about 11% of food provided by university dining services meets at least one of these requirements. WillemSchott, the student who spearheaded the project, hopes to get that up to 20% within five years.
“Which a big goal for us and it’s a really interesting commitment to more sustainable food on campus that will hopefully last at least through 2020 and then into the future as well,” he says.
While the U’s dining services already purchases much of its produce from the campus gardens and farmers markets, Schott says other local food producers have been helpful.
“We’ve seen a lot of cooperation from some local producers, from Wasatch Meats, from some other local producers as well,” says Schott.
University of Utah President David Pershing signed a commitment to meet the 20% by 2020 goal last month as part of the Real Food Challenge, an organization that aims to shift a billion dollars of college food budgets away from industrial farms and unhealthy food.