On the evening of Friday, February 17th, the UC Santa Cruz Real Food Campus Commitment was signed by Chancellor Blumenthal (with Alexandra Villegas), recognizing UC Santa Cruz's efforts in achieving greater real food procurement on campus while also committing to meet or exceed 40% real food purchases in dining services by 2020. UCSC Article.
Real food, as defined by the Real Food Challenge, is food that is produced in a fair, humane, and sustainable manner.
- Prior to the commitment signing, our campus goal in real food procurement was 20% by 2020, as mandated by the UCOP Sustainability Practices Policy. Currently, UC Santa Cruz Dining is at approximately 28% real food.
- Our food procurement is calculated through the Real Food Challenge's Real Food Calculator, which students from across the nation are using in collaboration with their campus dining services to measure the amount of real food served on their campus.
With this commitment signing, UC Santa Cruz Dining and the Food Systems Working Group will continue their efforts in engaging students in real food initiatives on campus, increasing transparency of our food procurement, and working towards achieving our new commitment to increasing the amount of real food on campus.
