Students lobby for more sustainable food

Responding to requests from thousands of students, UC has expanded its sustainability policy to deliver more organic and locally grown food to campus and medical center dining.

UC Regents received 10,000 postcards from students asking for more sustainable food options. As a result, university policy was updated to require that 20 percent of all food purchased be designated sustainable by 2020.

"UC has taken a bold step toward protecting our environment and nourishing all of the people in our food system — not only the students and staff who eat in our dining halls, but also the many people who grow, process and serve our food," said Kelsey Meagher, a UC Irvine senior who was one of 40 students, food service workers and dining hall staff members who worked on the policy.

Last year, Meagher and Hai Vo, who has since graduated, conducted a sustainability assessment of UC Irvine food purchasing. Both are leaders in the Real Food Challenge, a nationwide student network advocating for colleges and universities to buy more sustainable food. More than 300 universities have chapters.

The definition of sustainable outlined in the UC policy includes products such as fair trade-certified coffee, USDA certified organic products, cage-free, grass-fed or pasture-raised food and products purchased from cooperative businesses or employee profit-sharing ones. Locally grown food must come from within 500 miles of the UC location.

By December 2010, at least one dining facility at each UC location must be certified by an outside agency as a green business if financially feasible. Each campus must also provide sustainability educational outreach to students and work with the surrounding community on common sustainability goals.