University of California Santa Cruz Dining Receives $5,000 Grant From the Hobart Center for Foodservice Sustainability at Greenbuild Expo
UC Santa Cruz Director of Hospitality and Dining Named HCFS Fellow
BOSTON – November 19, 2008 – The Fellows with the Hobart Center for Foodservice Sustainability (HCFS) awarded University of California Santa Cruz dining a $5,000 grant for its comprehensive approach to foodservice sustainability during the 2008 Greenbuild Expo in Boston. Scott Berlin, UC Santa Cruz’s director of hospitality and dining, was named an HCFS Fellow. James Smith, Chef De Cuisine for UC Santa Cruz, accepted the grant on behalf of Berlin.
UC Santa Cruz, a nationally ranked research university in Santa Cruz, Calif., was judged as having the best sustainability program from among numerous entrants nationwide, which included educational institutions, foodservice establishments and hospitality facilities.
“There continues to be momentum in HCFS and the sharing of ideas and innovations as evidenced by the range of interest in the HCFS grant,” says Rick Cartwright, vice president and general manager of retail systems, ITW Food Equipment Group, and HCFS Fellow. “This year’s recipient, UC Santa Cruz, is not only implementing sustainability efforts that shine as best-practice examples, but their innovative approach also demonstrates attention to detail in all aspects of sustainability and is proving to have a significant return on investment.”
Overall, UC Santa Cruz decreased energy consumption and water use, reduced solid waste and water waste, and implemented a Farm-to-Fork program. To conserve energy, UC Santa Cruz’s dining services department teamed up with Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) to replace incandescent lighting, exit signs and older-style T12 ballasts with more energy-efficient alternatives. As a result, the university saved nearly $10,000 annually. For its efforts, the university also received a $26,500 rebate from PG&E that will fund future sustainable dining services projects.
“This recognition by the HCFS provides additional validation for the programs we have implemented as part of our sustainability efforts,” said Berlin, who will help select future operations for grant recognition while serving as an HCFS Fellow. “We look forward to sharing our success stories as well as to continuing to develop additional sustainability programs that can flourish in part because of this grant award.”
UC Santa Cruz updated its purchasing practices to mandate that only ENERGY STAR® qualified equipment be purchased. Dining services now uses 56 ENERGY STAR rated appliances that have cut most energy costs in half. In addition, dining services launched its “Trayless Tuesday” campaign, in which trays were removed from one of the university’s five dining halls. This measure alone reduced food waste by 32 percent. By the fall of 2008, UC Santa Cruz eliminated all trays in an effort to save an estimated 30,000 gallons of water each month as well as save on cleaning chemicals and water heating costs.
In order to reduce waste, the university implemented a pilot composting program in which kitchen scraps are collected from four of its five dining halls and transported to the vision composting project. In conjunction, dining services uses compostable paper products and flatware made from corn, which are 100 percent biodegradable and compostable. The university also finds productive uses for food instead of throwing it away. Vegetable and meat scraps are used for soup stock, and grease, fat and unused cooking oils are recycled for other purposes, such as biodiesel fuel. Other perishable food is donated to a local food bank. When food must be thrown away, it is converted to slurry via a pulper. Using pulpers, UC Santa Cruz has reduced cubic yards of waste collection in dumpsters by two-thirds. The university has also eliminated five gallons of grease a day from entering the wastewater system by using a bucket to dispose of grease instead of rinsing it down the drain.
Buying Locally Through Farm-to-Fork Program
UC Santa Cruz purchases $6.9 million in food supplies yearly. By buying locally whenever possible, dining services keeps revenue in the local economy. It also provides for fresher, higher quality vine-ripened produce and reduces the university’s carbon footprint. Aside from purchasing produce and crops from local farmers, the university also runs its own farm. The UC Santa Cruz farm supplies dining services with organically grown produce. Buying from its own farm eliminates the need to transport produce to campus and keeps revenue in our own economy and thus supports the research and education of sustainable farming practices.
HCFS provides thought leadership and counsel on sustainable design efforts and innovation for the foodservice industry. Designed as a resource hub, the HCFS offers forums allowing foodservice and food retail operations, architects, designers and consultants to collaborate with Hobart in developing new sustainable design ideas and solutions while building economic value for the end-user.
A Webcast of the news conference is available at www.hcfsforum.com. More information about the HCFS, its mission and leadership can be found by visiting www.hobartcorp.com/sustainabledesign.
About Hobart
Hobart is the world leader in commercial food equipment and service for the foodservice and food retail industries. Hobart manufactures products for warewashing and waste handling; food preparation; baking; cooking; weighing, wrapping and labeling systems; and Traulsen refrigeration. Hobart equipment is supported by a national network of nearly 1,700 factory-trained service technicians and 200 locations across the United States. To learn more about Hobart, visit www.hobartcorp.com.
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