Food Sustainability
On Tuesday Feb. 17 Eckerd had a College Program Series (CPS) event on the sustainability of our food provider, Cafe Bon Appetit. Cafe Bon Appetit runs both The Triton Pub and our cafeterias, where most students living on campus go to eat. Since last semester there has been a huge responds to student suggestions, showing that getting involved can result in a positive change. Bon Appetit’s General Manager, Eric Foster and Campus executive chef, Wren Forsythe are new this year. Also new this year is the food recovery program was started by students to bring leftover food to the homeless that would have otherwise gone to waste.
Cafe Bon Appetit makes their food purchases in accordance with the Fair Food Agreement. The Coalition of Immokalee (CIW) workers started the national campaign for fair food in order to educate the public on farm labor exploitation. In Florida, farmworkers have different labor laws that offer them less labor protection. According to the CIW’s website, “Since 2001, farmworkers have partnered with people of faith, students and young people, and communities all over the country to win respect for workers from some of the largest corporations in the world.” Cafe Bon Appetit is one of the companies that signed onto the agreement along with McDonald’s, Whole Foods, Subway and nine other service providers around the country.
The cafe has also proven itself to be relatively environmentally friendly by using food grown in our gardens and adhering to the Monterey Bay’s Seafood guidelines to buy the most sustainable fish including Cod (US) and Halibut. Additionally they offer a variety of vegetarian and vegan options. Information is available to read at the main cafeteria on the benefits of choosing to consume plant-based proteins. However if you aren’t a vegetarian, all of the ground beef used (about half of all the beef purchased) is certified humane, and often bought from a small local farmer.