TGIF Final Report

Project Leaders:

Student intern, Jenna Kingkade, created this project in 2012 Project Title: Cal Dining Sustainability Team Fiscal Sponsor and any Partnering Organization: Cal Dining

Josh Hubert Intern

Sarah Atkinson Intern

Monica Harnoto Intern Coordinator

Nicole Won Intern

Nicole Wong Intern

Nicholas Lam Intern

Project Summary: Goals of the project

The Cal Dining Sustainability Team was created to promote and innovate sustainable projects within all Cal Dining residential dining halls and retail stores. In the past, there was only one sustainability intern. However, Jenna Kingkade, the sustainability intern at the time, felt it was necessary to have more interns in order to increase the scope of Cal Dining’s sustainability projects, and thus a group was formed. In addition to ensuring that existing sustainability projects are still running effectively, the Cal Dining Sustainability Team’s mission is to constantly think of new ways to increase sustainability in Cal Dining’s operations and purchasing policy. The team also aims to increase awareness of environmental issues and food sustainability among the campus community.

Accomplishments and successes

From the start, the team worked very well and efficiently in order to fulfill our project mission. Work was divided evenly among the team members in an effort to cover the broad spectrum of projects we envisioned. Two members worked on green business certification and two members worked on marketing and outreach. In addition, we were encouraged to take on personal projects in order to continue advancing Cal Dining’s sustainability. Through this, Monica Harnoto was able to create Chews to Reuse, the reusable to-­‐go container initiative. Sarah Atkinson and Nicole Wong are currently working on a Sustainable Map Project, Josh Hubert is currently working on increasing student feedback for meals, and Nicole Won and Nick Lam have focused on Green Business Certification. A great success of this team has been its ability to efficiently collaborate on big projects such as Food Day while maintaining independent or partner projects. The team was able to create this productive environment through regular group meetings and continual support of one another. We also were successful in putting on events that promoted sustainability to students in the dining commons such as our Water Day and Earth Day initiatives. The Cal Dining Sustainability Team also worked closely with other student groups and on-­‐campus organizations such as UHS, Bare Abundance and CRRS. By asking other club members and organizations to participate in our events, we were able to increase the outreach and impact of our initiatives. The Cal Dining Sustainability Team continues to check up on Cal Dining’s green operations. With the help of the interns, Crossroads and Cafe 3 were re-­‐certified under by the Alameda Green Business Certification Board. In addition, Cal Catering received certification and Pat Brown’s is in the process of becoming certified. Finally, the team recently did a packaging audit of all Cal Dining’s retail stores, to reduce the amount of post-­‐consumer waste our products produce.

Challenges and obstacles We faced some challenges when we realized that some projects we wanted to implement were not possible due to the policies of Cal Dining, whether they may be obligations brought on contractually or due to logistical reasons. For example, a goal of ours has been to increase sustainable and healthy food options in Cal Dining, but this is difficult because of the contracts Cal Dining has with current vendors. In addition, we realized that because Cal Dining is serving the entire Berkeley campus, it cannot completely eliminate dishes or ingredients. For example, when many environmental groups suggested we create a Meatless Monday, we realized that we couldn’t pursue such initiatives due to a predicted decrease in customer satisfaction. Our solution was to suggest the idea of not eating meat and educate people on healthier alternatives during events such as Water Day 2012 and Food Day 2012. Also, we realized that something as simple as putting signage in the dining halls is actually a bit complicated because every dining hall is under different management and space is often limited. Educational signage was also a problem because of Cal Dining’s lack of display holders near food items. In order to figure out what would be the best way to implement signage we set up many meetings with Patrice Thomas, the marketing director, asking her advice on how to make the system uniform. Overall, we learned to keep in mind that realistically some projects would not be possible because of the parameters faced with working within an established business. Still, it was important for us to push for improvement in whatever areas we could, evaluating current operations and innovating new projects, making it clear that we weren’t satisfied with the status quo. We learned how to work effectively with professionals that run the business such as general managers, chefs, as well as top directors of Cal Dining. Because this team is continuing to grow and change, we appreciate the mistakes we made because without those mistakes, we would not have learned as much as we have. I believe that it is important for our team to continue to communicate better not just among ourselves, but also within the entire Cal Dining organization.

Feedback to TGIF

TGIF was a great resource throughout this entire process. Katherine was really helpful when we applied for other grants and supportive of our events such as Food Day. We also really enjoyed the opportunity to be featured in the TGIF newsletters. Overall it was a great experience, and there is nothing that could have been further improved.

Actual Timeline of the project from start to completion

See Attached Timeline

Sustainabil ity Impact: What quantitative and/or qualitative sustainability impacts/metrics did your project have?

Chews to Reuse has had a significant sustainability impact. Because Chews to Reuse to-­‐go containers have a lifetime of 360 uses, this program eliminates the water, energy and carbon footprint inherent in the production process of 360 compostable containers. In addition, the Chews to Reuse program also reduces Cal Dining’s total waste output. Our quantitative metrics are as follows: 77,947 kWh and 2,660 therms of energy are saved per year by opting for the Chews to Reuse containers. In terms of student participation, 3,419 students used Chews to Reuse containers during the program’s first month of installment (following the pilot) and since then participation is roughly up to 4,249 students with a likely increase in participation in the future. Based on our estimates, Food Day impacted 1,000 people while generating zero waste. As for Water Day, we estimate that at least 100 students heightened their water awareness due to our chalkboard tabling events in all four dining halls.

Do you expect on-going benefits (annual cost savings)? Please include estimates of these impacts.

Although there may not be any quantifiable cost savings for Cal Dining that arise from Food Day or Water Day, these events could have potentially many real benefits for our environment. During Water Day this past April, countless students participated in our chalkboard poster awareness activities by brainstorming, discussing and writing down ways they could be more responsible and conscious of their water usage. By offering students the chance to critically reflect on their water usage, new more eco-­‐friendly habits may have sprung up as a result. As for Food Day last fall, this event allowed students to enjoy food and engage with the many issues surrounding food (from sustainability to nutrition to even hunger). We invited vendors like Annie’s Homegrown that incorporate sustainability into their packaging, community involvement and ingredients. Local vendors like Back to the Roots and Hodo Soy also demonstrated how creativity and sustainability in production can be used as a platform to educate consumers. By inviting groups and companies that encourage sustainable food systems or practices, this allowed participants to understand the strong connection between their food and the environment. Chews to Reuse will continue to save Cal Dining the cost of continually buying new compostable to go containers while making its student users conscious of the waste

that comes from one-­‐time use containers. Additionally, Chews to Reuse offers considerable cost savings: we project that the program will save Cal Dining a minimum of $46,369.03 annually especially after the considerable rise in student participation rates since the program’s pilot this past fall. Students will also save a combined $65,658.00 a year just by switching to reusable to go containers.

Conclusions and next steps: The hope is that the Cal Dining Student Sustainability Team will continue indefinitely, funded entirely by Cal Dining. Our team has already begun a few projects for the next school year. These projects include refining Lean Path (Cal Dining’s food waste measuring system), creating a sustainability map in partnership with CRRS, launching a sampling program in the dining halls, and organizing our second annual Food Day. Lean Path ValuWaste is a digital weighing system that allows each dining hall to measure the amount of pre-­‐consumer waste they produce. Lean Path collects data allowing the managers to see where they can reduce waste. Our team wants to further this program by continuing to promote it as an integral part of every Cal Dining kitchen, attending meetings to suggest areas of improvement based on data from Lean Path. Two of our team members are currently collaborating with CRRS to create a sustainability map of the UC Berkeley campus. The goal is to map all waste bins-­‐ trash, cans/bottles, mixed paper, compost-­‐ on campus and eventually make this map available to students so they can conveniently find the closest bin that suits their purposes, hopefully encouraging more efficient waste stream separation so less ends up in the landfill. Our most recent project is the sampling program, which we hope to launch at the start of next semester. The purpose of this project is to allow students to try dishes before receiving a full plate, to decrease the amount of post-­‐consumer food waste. The idea is that if people know what they like they will be more likely to eat what is given to them. Last but not least, our 2nd annual Food Day is next October. We have already begun contacting vendors in order to make this Food Day larger and more advertised than before. We want multiple cooking demonstrations, many vendors and maybe even a guest speaker. As you can see, we have many plans for the future and we want to thank you so much for supporting the development and growth of Cal Dining sustainability.

Timeline From Start to Completion: Name Date Summary of Work Accomplished Sustainability Team 3/1/12 Orientation meeting at Crossroads. Sustainability Team

3/6/12-­‐3/10

Grant application to TGIF and CASC and Awards applications

Nicole Won and Josh Hubert 3/8/12 Started Water Day 2012 Planning

Nicholas Lam 3/8/12

Contacted I Heart Tap Water and Take Back The Tap for possible collaboration for the Water Day event. Researched information and brainstormed ideas for a possible "Tap Water" booth

Monica Harnoto 3/9/12

Meeting with Mike and Professors for Chew to Reuse initial research

Monica Harnoto 3/16/12 Edited Water Day flyer Monica Harnoto 3/16/12 Worked on Metrics section of TGIF grant Nicole Won and Josh Hubert

3/9/12-­‐3/21/12 Water Day Planning and Marketing

Nicole Won 3/21/12 Water Questions and Info Sheet Sustainability Team 3/22/12 Water Day Tabling Monica Harnoto 3/28/12

Working on TGIF Grant/Working on StopWaste.org Grant

Nicholas Lam 4/1/12 Green Business Certification emails sent to unit managers and GBC consultants

Nicholas Lam 4/4/12 Emailed Patrice regarding Cal Day and researched project proposal templates

Nicole Won and Josh Hubert 4/5/12

Attended Foothill Dining Commons Meeting and communicated with staff

Nicole Won 4/5/12

Email Correspondence with Steam member, Monica and Trashion show RA's. Earth Week logistical planning

Monica Harnoto 4/5/12

Email correspondence with Steam, CNR, BSFC

Monica Harnoto 4/5/12

Wrote proposal for "Chews to Reuse" for Chuck and Shawn

Nicholas Lam 4/9/12

Scheduled meetings with GMs of Clark Kerr and Crossroads for GBC discussion. Finished project proposal template.

Sustainability Team

4/9/12-­‐4/17/12

Earth week planning with team, Ida, and chefs of dining commons in order to install food mileage signage

Sustainability Team 4/21/12

Earth Day signage installed in CKC and Foothill

Nicholas Lam 4/23/12

Emails sent to Leila, Chris, Sunil, and CRRS for Green Certification. Compiled GBC information.

Nicholas Lam 4/27/12 Met with Chris and Natalie to work on Cal Catering Green Department Certification

Nicholas Lam 5/2/12

Compiled Green Business Certification apps for Crossroad and Clark Kerr, Green Department Certification for Cal Catering. Emails sent to Chris and Leila.

Monica Harnoto 5/2/12

Met with Mike for performance evaluation, sent email to Steam about changing the unsustainable packaging at the Coffee Spot, worked on the CACS grant form

Josh Hubert and Nicholas Lam

5/3/12-­‐5/7/12

Going over Green Business app, meeting with Nick, and sending emails to Pat Brown's people

Nicholas Lam 5/15/12

Corresponded with Lisa, Office of Sustainability revised submitted application of Cal Catering. Went to Clark Kerr to verify lighting fixtures and LED exit signs.

Monica Harnoto

5/23/12-­‐5/29/12

Researched to-­‐go container programs at other schools, emailed schools for advice on to-­‐go container system practices, composing a proposal for to-­‐go container system for Foothill

Nicholas Lam 6/6/12

Completed and submitted Green Business Certification apps for Clark Kerr and Crossroads

Josh Hubert 6/7/12

Communicated with Retail Manager Albert, and going over partially completed green business application for pat browns

Nicholas Lam and Josh Hubert 6/8/12

Brainstormed student feedback project ideas and communicated with James

Nicholas Lam 6/19/12-­‐ Compiled CAHESC Report

and Josh Hubert

6/22/12

Nicholas Lam 6/26/12-­‐6/20/12

Sustainability audits of Cal Catering and Crossroads with Alameda Green Business and EBMUD

Nicholas Lam 6/27/12

Crossroads Audit with Leila of Alameda County, scheduled EBMUD inspection and emails to Cal Catering

Nicole and Monica 7/20/12

Brainstorming for Calapalooza/Opening Week

Nicole Won 7/18/12 Email correspondence and research for water meter

Monica Harnoto 7/26/12

Met with Brian and Mike to finalize things for reusable to go container program

Nicole Won 8/1/12

Meeting with Ida about food signage, emails to marketing department about Caltopia/Calapolooza

Nicole Won 8/7/12

Meeting with Mike about the green resume. Drafts of the timeline and created a info sheet about food/green practices for message boards at crossroads

Monica Harnoto 8/7/12

Worked on finalized reusable to-­‐go container publicity information

Nicole Won 8/16/12 Finalize Timeline and sent to Christine Monica Harnoto and Nicholas Lam 8/16/12

CKC and Crossroads Green Business Certification

Monica Harnoto 8/16/12

Helping Christine with the timeline, driving publicity items to various DC's

Nicholas Lam 8/16/12 Help Tiffany sorting Cal Dining shirts Monica Harnoto 8/19/12 Tabling for Caltopia Monica Harnoto and Nicholas Lam

8/19/12-­‐3/22/12 Tabling for Chews to Reuse at Foothill

Sustainability Team 8/24/12

Meeting about Leadership symposium and Food Day

Nicole Won 8/28/12 Green business correspondence and signage correspondence

Nicholas Lam 8/28/12

Cal Catering Certification achieved. Interview/follow-­‐up with Nik Craine, Bright Green Newsletter, for Cal Catering

Nicole Won 8/30/12 Initial count of lights/toilets at Pat Brown's and call with Leila about application

Sustainability Team 8/31/12 See meeting minutes. Monica Harnoto 9/6/12

Checked in with Brian about Chews to Reuse

Nicole Won 9/12/12 Food Day Timeline

Sustainability Team

9/12/12-­‐10/23/12

Food Day Planning—figuring out logistics, gathering vendors and organizations, and planning marketing

Sustainability Team 10/24/12 Food Day!! Nicholas Lam 11/20/12 Clark Kerr Sustainability Program Monica Harnoto 11/20/12 Clark Kerr Sustainability Program Nicholas Lam 11/24/12 Correspondence with internship applicants. Nicholas Lam and Monica Harnoto

11/27/12-­‐ 11/30/12

Worked on TGIF report and TGIF Update meeting

Sustainability Team

12/3/12-­‐12/7/12 Candidate interviews

Monica Harnoto

1/22/13 and

1/224/13 Meeting with CRRS and BareAbundance to collaborate on Crossroads demonstration

Sustainability Team 1/25/13 Intern Training Monica Harnoto 1/28/13

Chews to Reuse rolls out in all dining commons

Nicole Wong 1/30/13 Brainstorming/sketching out Ideas for semester projects

Sustainability Team 2/1/13

First team meeting, talked about TGIF grant and Zero Waste initiative

Sustainability Team 2/1/13 TGIF grant abstract and planning

Sustainability Team 2/4/13

Team meeting, delegating projects, brainstorming Water Day ideas (board game)

Monica H., Josh H., and Sarah A. 2/4/13 Weighing compost bins Nicole Wong, Josh Hubert., Sarah A. and 2/5/13 Food waste awareness tabling and research

Monica H.

Nicole Wong 2/6/13 Emailing Ida and researching about low water impact menu

Sustainability Team 2/11/13

Team meeting, Water day, zero waste review, 1+2=0

Sarah Atkinson 2/11/13 Water Day research Monica Harnoto 2/11/13

Meeting with Mike to ask questions, organizing to-­‐do list for interns

Nicole Won 2/14/13 Installing aerators in Pat Browns

Nicole wong 2/15/13 Met with Ida to discuss water day menu and 1+2

Sarah Atkinson and Nicole Won 2/18/13 TGIF Grant editing Monica Harnoto 2/20/13

Meet with RSP about TGIF grant, email Bare Abundance, email RSF about shoe recycling

Monica Harnoto 2/21/13 Chews to reuse photo shoot Sustainability Team 2/25/13 Team Meeting

Nicole Wong 3/1/13

Working on Cal Dining Award (Efficiency) and Emailing CKC/GBC Managers about sustainability resume

Sarah Atkinson 3/3/13

Emailing Foothill and Qualcomm managers for a tour, working on Cal Dining Award

Sustainability Team 3/4/13

Water Day, CHESC, Zero Waste Convergence, Sustainability Resume

Sarah Atkinson and Nicole Wong 3/4/13

Meeting with Shannon Davis about Compost/Recycle Google Map

Sarah Atkinson 3/6/13 CHESC Cal Dining Award

Nicole Wong 3/6/13 Sustainability map, emailing Patrice, Robert Stayte, etc

Nicole Won 3/6/13 Green Business Audit with Lin for Pat Brown's

Nicole Won and Monica Harnoto 3/6/13 CHESC Application Sarah Atkinson and Nicole Wong 3/8/13

Meeting with Evelyn Hammid on crossroads compost contamination problems

Sarah Atkinson and Josh Hubert 3/8/13 Sustainability Resume Update Meetings Sustainability Team 3/11/13

weekly meeting and board spraying for Water Day

Sarah Atkinson and Nicole Wong 3/10/13

Crossroads Contamination meeting with Evelyn

Sarah Atkinson and Nicole Wong 3/11/13 Weekly meeting with CRRS Monica Harnoto 3/13/13

Emailing about Water Day and checking up on supplies

Josh Hubert, Monica, Nicole Wong 3/14/13

Meeting w/ Patrice about signage and testing Water Day posters

Sustainability Team

3/17/13-­‐3/19/13 Water Day tabling

Nicole Won and Monica

3/28/13-­‐3/29/13 TGIF Posters

Sustainability Team 4/1/13

Meeting reviewed Water Day and TGIF Grant, Crossroads contamination

Josh Hubert 4/1/13 Emailing about surveying Nicole Wong 4/8/13 Sampling program logistics Nicole Wong, Sarah Atkinson, Monica Harnoto 4/8/13 Food Day Meeting Sarah Atkinson and Nicole Wong 4/8/13 CRRS Weekly meeting for Sust. Map

Nicole Won 4/12/13 Sampling logistics and timeline revision/ Call to Joesph Lerma for Pat Brown's

Sustainability Team 4/15/13 Weekly Meeting Nicole Won, Josh Hubert, Monica Harnoto, Sarah Atkinson

4/15/13-­‐4/18/13

Meeting with Lucky-­‐Sustainable Packaging and sustainable packaging audits

Nicole Won and Nicole Wong 4/22/13

Meeting with Cafe 3 about LeanPath and Sampling

Sustainability Team 4/22/13 Weekly meeting Sarah Atkinson 4/25/13 Presentation for XR Contamination

Josh Hubert 4/30/13 Food survey meeting with Ida, and compiling notes

Sustainability Team 5/6/13 Weekly meeting

Nicole Won 5/17/13 Pat Brown's final audit for Green Biz, and emails to Albert

Nicole Won 5/24/13 TGIF Final Report

Nicole Won 5/27/13 Prep for reusable mug meeting with Professor Rosenbaum, see meeting notes

Official Budget Summary: May June July Aug. Sept Oct Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. April Hrs Dollars Monica H. Hr. 8.75 10.75 6 48.75 0 67.25 0 14.75 5 13 17.75 192

Dollars 98.44 120.94 67.5 548.4

4 0 831.5 0 184.3

8 63.7

5 165.7

5 226.3

1 2307.01 Josh H. Hr. 3 21.5 11.25 4 2.5 9.25 11.25 62.7

Dollars 33.75 241.88 126.5

6 45 28.75 106.3

8 129.3

8 711.7 Nicole Won Hr. 5 7 11.5 42.25 8 20.75 10 104.

Dollars 56.25 78.75 132.2

5 488.7

6 100 240.8

2 117.5 1214.33 Nick L. Hr. 7.5 21 16.5 25.5 13 26.75 11.75 122

Dollars 84.38 236.2

5 185.6

3 286.8

8 149.5 334.3

8 146.8

8 1423.9 Nicole Wong Hr. 2.5 10 12.25 24.7

Dollars 28.13 112.5 137.8

1 278.44 Sarah A. Hr. 11.25 11.25 22.

Dollars 126.5

6 126.5

6 253.12 Jenna K. Hr. 34.75 34.7

Dollars 434.3

8 434.38 Total 563 6622.88

OCTOBER 24 | 10AM-2PMupper sproul

Food day is a nationwide celebration and a movement toward more healthy, affordable & sustainable food.

cooking demostrations

musical performance

student booths

delicious free samples!

WHAt c a n i

expect?

WHAt is food day?

CALDINING.BERKELEY.EDU

S P O N S O R E D B Y C A L D I N I N G

For event information, contact monicaharnoto@berkeley.edu. For disability accommodation, please contact Disability Access Services by phone at 510.643.6456 (voice) or 510.642.6376 (TTY) or by email at accessibility@berkeley.edu. Please attempt to make your service request with as much advance notice as possible.

chef Mike C, dojo dog

decadence

University of California, Berkeley

The G een Initiative Fund

5/30/13 Cal Dining organizes Food Day to promote healthy eating - The Daily Californian

www.dailycal.org/2012/10/24/uc-berkeley-students-celebrate-food-day-to-promote-healthy-eating/ 1/3

Jump to Section

NEWS

Cal Dining organizes Food Day topromote healthy eating

Gary Duan, from Back to the Roots, a company founded by Berkeley graduates, holds a rafflefor a free "Grow Your Own MushroomGarden" as part of Food Day events put on by UniversityHealth Services.

Like a colorful cornucopia, Sproul Plaza was laden with sustainable foodorganizations, cooks and activists who gathered for Food Day Wednesday.

The campus celebrated the national event founded by the Center for Sciencein the Public Interest for the second year in a row, though it was organizedlocally by Cal Dining’s Sustainability Team for the first time.

According to Monica Harnoto, a Cal Dining sustainability intern and eventorganizer, the purpose of the event was to promote healthy and sustainablefood and provide a platform where students could learn about how toparticipate in the local food movement.

CAMPUS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2012

DEREK REMSBURG/SENIOR STAFF

BY LEVON MINASSIAN | STAFF LAST UPDATED NOVEMBER 13, 2012

5/30/13 Cal Dining organizes Food Day to promote healthy eating - The Daily Californian

www.dailycal.org/2012/10/24/uc-berkeley-students-celebrate-food-day-to-promote-healthy-eating/ 2/3

“We got a lot of our inspiration for the event from the Eat Real Festival inJack London Square in Oakland,” said Nicole Won, another sustainabilityintern. “Aside from just awareness, the action part of today is signing the foodpledge and having students engage with the organizations here who shareour message.”

The campus community enjoyed food samples from Dojo Dog, Ritual Coffee,Purity Organic and Annie’s Homegrown. Also in attendance were food­justiceand sustainability advocates, such as the Berkeley Student Food Collective,Oxfam America Club at Berkeley, the Residential Sustainability Program andBareAbundance.

BareAbundance, a student­run nonprofit that works to collect excess foodfrom Cal Dining and other local vendors and distribute it to low­incomeindividuals, held a raffle for a basket of cereal, peanut butter and other foodsthat weighed one pound each.

“The goal is to show how precious food really is,” said sophomore ChloeTsang. “The raffle is meant to show how much food we actually throw away —the average American eats four to five pounds per day and throws away onepound per day.”

The $1,500 cost of the event was paid for with a grant from theASUC Auxiliary’s The Green Initiative Fund. Katherine Walsh, the initiativefund’s coordinator, said most of the funding went to setup, fliers and the costof food, tables and supplies.

Junior Nadia Tsado said the event was “a good use of funds” and that shethought it was a good idea to bring in outside vendors because doing soshowed that sustainable food was growing.

Contact Levon Minassian at lminassian@dailycal.org.

Correction(s):A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the cost of the eventwas $3,875. In fact, the cost was $1,500. It also incorrectly stated that TheGreen Initiative Fund is under the ASUC. In fact it is under the ASUCAuxiliary.

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