{"631302":{"#nid":"631302","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Dining Sustainability: Focus On Food Waste","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAt Georgia Tech Dining, we are continuously building upon our sustainability programs as we strive to minimize our environmental impact, strengthen our local and global community, and consistently provide food offerings that are healthy, sustainable, and delicious.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhy Waste?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EEach year, approximately 130 billion pounds of food are discarded in the United States, including an estimated 22 billion pounds from U.S. Colleges and Universities. With nearly 50 million Americans regularly experiencing food insecurity, we understand we have both an environmental and social responsibility to fight food waste on a daily basis as we serve the Georgia Tech community.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFighting Food Waste\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWe believe that the best way to fight food waste is to prevent it from happening in the first place. Following the guidance of the\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/sustainable-management-food\/food-recovery-hierarchy\u0022\u003E EPA Food Recovery Hierarchy\u003C\/a\u003E, we begin with source reduction, minimizing our operational food waste through careful preparation, creative product utilization, and menu forecasting. We also empower students and guests to join us in our efforts to fight food waste through sustainability tabling and events like \u0026ldquo;Weigh the Waste.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Weigh the Waste\u0026rdquo; allows us to track the average volume of food wasted per meal while identifying ways to improve our guest\u0026rsquo;s dining experience and collecting real-time feedback on why waste is occurring in the first place. These events also allow us to engage directly with the Georgia Tech community and share easy starting points for anyone interested in minimizing their own food waste percentage.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELooking to take the first step in fighting food waste when dining on campus?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHere are a few ways to get started:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Col\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EWhen dining at Brittain and North Avenue Dining Halls, try starting with smaller portions or sampling new offerings before filling up your plate. Both locations are all-you-care-to-eat facilities and you can always come back for more!\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EHydration matters! When we are dehydrated, our body sends signals that we\u0026rsquo;re hungry, when we really need something to drink. Try drinking a glass of water with or before your meal, you might not be as hungry as you think.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EJoin our To-Go box program at North Avenue or Brittain, or ask for your meal to go at West Village! You can eat whenever you\u0026rsquo;re ready and store any leftovers in the fridge for the next time you\u0026rsquo;re hungry.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\u003C\/ol\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIncreasing Food Access\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen we do have excess food, we prioritize the donation of safe and ready-to-eat food items through our bi-weekly donation program at Brittain Dining Hall. We work closely with Georgia Tech Campus Kitchen, a student-led volunteer initiative that packages and delivers donations from GT Dining to \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/studentlife.gatech.edu\/content\/star-services\u0022\u003EKlemis Kitchen\u003C\/a\u003E, Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s on-campus resource and food pantry for students that are currently experiencing food insecurity. Through the combined efforts of GT Campus Kitchen and the GT Dining Operations team, we were able to donate over 2,000 meals to Klemis Kitchen in fall 2019.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECampus Composting\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile our fight against food waste starts with prevention and donation, we understand that some food waste is unavoidable. On September 23, 2019, GT Dining launched a campus-wide composting program with \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/compostnow.org\/\u0022\u003ECompost Now\u003C\/a\u003E that resulted in over 129,000 pounds of compostables and food waste being diverted from landfills by December 2019.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOnce the composting process is complete, all finished compost is donated throughout the metro Atlanta community to school gardens, small farms, nonprofits, and community gardens, with 200 pounds of compost available for use at Georgia Tech each year. Our fall compostable collections will amount to roughly 13,000 pounds of finished compost that will be returned to enrich the soil throughout our community. We look forward to supporting campus garden projects like the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/livingbuilding.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EKendeda Living Building\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026rsquo;s rooftop garden and the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sos.gtorg.gatech.edu\/georgia-tech-community-garden\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech Community Garden\u003C\/a\u003E as we strive to \u0026ldquo;close the loop\u0026rdquo; of our composting program and support the collaborative success of Institutional sustainability efforts.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat\u0026rsquo;s New on the Menu?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGT Dining kicked off the spring semester with an expanded hot-foods menu at \u0026ldquo;Umami Shoppe\u0026rdquo; in West Village and the opening of \u0026ldquo;Republic of Spice\u0026rdquo;, a new concept featuring Indian cuisine that is located on the first floor of the Student Center. Whether you are enjoying a Butter Chicken Rice Bowl from the Student Center or warming up with a steaming bowl of freshly prepared Ramen in West village, both concepts feature a range of compostable vessels that allow guests to dine in or take their meal to go, all while minimizing the environmental impact of single-use disposables.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EInterested in learning more about these or other GT Dining Sustainability Programs? \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/georgiatech.campusdish.com\/Sustainability\/WhatWeAreDoing\u0022\u003EWe\u0026rsquo;d love to connect!\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe best way to fight food waste is to prevent it from happening in the first place.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The best way to fight food waste is to prevent it from happening in the first place."}],"uid":"35011","created_gmt":"2020-01-17 20:54:16","changed_gmt":"2020-01-17 20:54:16","author":"Morgan Miller","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2020-01-17T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2020-01-17T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"631295":{"id":"631295","type":"image","title":"Buzz Composting","body":null,"created":"1579293533","gmt_created":"2020-01-17 20:38:53","changed":"1579293533","gmt_changed":"2020-01-17 20:38:53","alt":"Image of Buzz composting at an event.","file":{"fid":"240250","name":"IMG_1160.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/IMG_1160.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/IMG_1160.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":334665,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/IMG_1160.jpg?itok=CCIDrxzE"}}},"media_ids":["631295"],"groups":[{"id":"499601","name":"Campus Services"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"310","name":"Georgia Tech Dining Services"},{"id":"168693","name":"campus sustainability"},{"id":"9169","name":"Georgia Tech Student Center"},{"id":"175099","name":"west village"},{"id":"86471","name":"Georgia Tech Campus Services"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJordan Barron\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nSustainability Coordinator\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nGeorgia Tech Dining Services\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:barron-jordan@aramark.com\u0022\u003Ebarron-jordan@aramark.com\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["barron-jordan@aramark.com"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}