Dining
CSUN’s goal is to provide sustainable food choices that are healthy and delicious in its on-campus food service locations.
Main Strategies
- Increase sustainable campus food sources
- Increase the availability of fresh, healthy vegetarian/vegan options on campus
- Provide nutrition and sustainability information for foods from campus food services
Objectives for 2023
- Expand sourcing of sustainable foods
- Expand the selection of healthy foods
- Provide nutrition and sustainability information for foods from campus food services
2020-21 Priorities and Outcomes
- Increase percentage of total foods that qualify as sustainable and local.
- Despite very limited operations due to COVID-19, CSUN's new dining vendor, Chartwells increased the campus' sourcing of local produce from 20% to 69%.
- Increase percentage of seafood that is third-party certified as sustainable.
- Through CSUN's new contract with Chartwells, the University was able to significantly improve its 100% of seafood purchased by Matador Eats met Seafood Watch's criteria for sustainable sourcing.
- Host one sustainability themed meal per semester.
- On Earth Day, Matador Eats featured farm-to-fork meals celebrating their local farmers. They also handed out DIY grow kits that included a compostable starter pot, soil, and a pack of herb seeds. See the Earth Day 2021 menu.
- The Institute for Sustainability posted vegetarian recipes for "Meatless Mondays" on their social media. The Marilyn Magaram Center also posted recipe videos on their social media and YouTube Channel which included vegetarian, vegan, and other sustainability-themed dishes.
Other Highlights
- The Institute for Sustainability and the Marilyn Magaram Center Wellness Garden donated 1,201 pounds of fresh produce to the CSUN Food Pantry, which goes directly to food insecure students.
- CSUN's new dining vendor, Chartwells, has partnered with CSUN Sustainability to achieve sustainability goals for both Chartwells and the campus. Their sustainability platform can be found here.
- Chartwells dining program, Matador Eats, is available here.
- The CSUN Food Pantry hosted a pop-up pantry on campus on May 5th 2021, making fresh fruits and vegetables available to CSUN students. See the video here.
2021-22 Priorities
- Develop and introduce more healthy, vegan/vegetarian option in campus dining facilities.
- Increase the presence of the CSA program and other local produce options on campus.
- Increase the percentage of sustainably sourced foods offered by CSUN dining services.
- Work with CSUN’s dining vendor to promote healthy and sustainable menu options.
- Host a sustainability-themed meal at least once per semester.
To connect directly to the CSUN Dining Green Projects page click here.
Other
Sustainable Vendors
Issue:
DS1.1
Priority:
1
Strategy:
Research vendors that can provide sustainably sourced supplies
Status:
MMC is working with CSA. Produce is from Underwood Family Farms.
F Sip uses Ground Works an LA based Certified Organic Roaster & Fair Trade.
TUC is determining their vendors supply, the Real Food Challenge will help with this effort.
Party Responsible:
TUC, IS, MMC
Next/Action Items:
In-progress. Explore sustainable food vendors and evaluate opportunities for purchasing power through local CSU’s
Franchise Food Sources
Issue:
DS1.2
Priority:
1
Strategy:
Research the sourcing of on campus food franchises.
Status:
All service ware was converted to paper products. Subway is converting to paper bags. El Pollo Loco to make adjustment to packaging their to-go orders to reduce the use of plastic bags and cutlery, changing to a single utensil option vs prepackaged plastic wrapped set.
Party Responsible:
TUC
Next/Action Items:
In-progress. Investigate other franchise food service locations and improve their operations.
Purchase Recommendations
Issue:
DS1.3
Priority:
1
Strategy:
Formulate recommendations for consideration by purchasing and contracting personnel
Status:
In-progress.
Party Responsible:
TUC
Next/Action Items:
In-progress: TUC- Determine who the sustainable vendors are. Then make recommendations.
Use Sustainable Vendors
Issue:
DS1.4
Priority:
1
Strategy:
Increase the percentage of sustainably sourced foods offered by CSUN dining services
Status:
TUC is currently using: Family Tree, Ground Works, Driftwood farms. All chicken purchased is antibiotic and hormone free chicken. Free range chicken.
Party Responsible:
TUC
Next/Action Items:
In-progress: TUC will research alternative/additional vendors including United Natural Foods Incorporated (UNFI) as an alternative to SYSCO.
CSA Program
Issue:
DS1.5
Priority:
1
Strategy:
Increase the presence of the CSA program on campus
Status:
CSA has 22 current members, one more than last year. Box pick up is from 3pm-6pm on Tuesdays. This program has a capacity of 60 participants.
Party Responsible:
IS, MMC
Next/Action Items:
On-going: Evaluate ways to expand program.
Fresh Produce
Issue:
DS1.6
Priority:
3
Strategy:
Increase amount of fresh produce sold for students living on-campus
Status:
Farmers Market now on campus.
Party Responsible:
TUC
Next/Action Items:
On-going. Increase the attendances and purchases at the Farmers Market
Salad Bars
Issue:
DS2.1
Priority:
2
Strategy:
Expand salad bars to more campus dining facilities
Status:
There are no plans to expand the salad bars at OGB, G'Mos and Sierra Center. Every location has salads to order.
Party Responsible:
TUC
Next/Action Items:
No further action.
Healthy Vegetarian Options
Issue:
DS2.2
Priority:
1
Strategy:
Develop and introduce more healthy, vegan/vegetarian option in campus dining facilities
Status:
Campus Food Report was completed 1/26/15 and highlights healthy vegan and vegetarian options at various locations.
Party Responsible:
TUC
Next/Action Items:
G'Mos to provide report on their healthy and vegetarian options.
Collaborative Program
Issue:
DS1.1
Priority:
1
Strategy:
Research vendors that can provide sustainably sourced supplies
Status:
MMC is working with CSA. Produce is from Underwood Family Farms.
F Sip uses Ground Works an LA based Certified Organic Roaster & Fair Trade.
TUC is determining their vendors supply, the Real Food Challenge will help with this effort.
Party Responsible:
TUC, IS, MMC
Next/Action Items:
In-progress. Explore sustainable food vendors and evaluate opportunities for purchasing power through local CSU’s.
Food Labeling
Issue:
DS3.1
Priority:
2
Strategy:
Design a labeling standard for food offerings to be used throughout campus dining. This could be done through a cooperative effort between the TUC and the Magaram Center. This may require the expansion of the digital menu boards being utilized in some dining facilities.
Status:
Computrition Menu Management software is a new module that displays info on food items, ingredients, calories, etc. This will be rolled out at G’Mos.
Party Responsible:
TUC, MMC, IS
Next/Action Items:
In-progress.
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