Campus Dining Today Spring 2021 - 17

are past the time when incremental change is enough. We
see tremendous opportunities for climate action through
our food program: leveraging our institutional purchasing
power and collaborating with thought-leaders in climate
change research, and across business and industry. We are
inspired by the groundswell of student support of this key
subject as well. We are grateful to partner with many subject
matter experts around climate issues. We also recognize the
power of creating delicious plant-forward menus and using
more biodiverse and regenerative agriculture ingredients.
Our focus with the new One Plate, One Planet program is
to enhance and create a more impactful student dining
experience for the health of our students and for the good of
our planet. "
Not only is Stanford Dining collaborating with faculty, the
Office of Sustainability, and students and staff across its own
campus, but it has long put collaboration at the core of its
sustainability strategy. In 2014, together with The Culinary
Institute of America (CIA) and Stanford School of Medicine,
it co-founded the Menus of Change University Research
Collaborative (MCURC). This groundbreaking network
of 250 members across 60+ institutions brings together
forward-thinking scholars, foodservice leaders, executive
chefs, and administrators for colleges and universities who
are accelerating efforts to move people toward healthier,
more sustainable, and delicious foods using evidence-based
research, education, and innovation. The Collaborative's
Collective Impact Initiative has set a target goal to reduce
food-related greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by
2030 through measuring their combined protein. Stanford
Dining both learns from and contributes to impactful
initiatives such as this within the MCURC. 

Stanford Dining's history of sustainability-inspired partnerships
and collaborations spans its membership in the Google
Food Lab, Bay Area Sustainable Sourcing Group, and World
Resources Institute's Better Buying Lab. Building on this history,
Stanford has recently announced its membership in Drawdown
Labs, a consortium of private sector partners working to scale
climate solutions.
Despite the great work happening at the intersection of food,
health, and climate, so often I see that organizations aren't
having the impact they intended. I believe this stems from at
least three key issues:
This work is not being coordinated, measured, nor is it moving
fast enough. By contrast, it is a joy and deep honor to work
with R&DE Stanford Dining because their ethos is a positive
movement in all three ways. In particular, having worked
with Eric as co-directors of the Menus of Change University
Research Collaborative, starting when I was with CIA, we have
experience driving positive change together toward healthy,
sustainable, and delicious food choices. As a Stanford alum,
the chance to support my alma mater provides me with a
special and unique opportunity to give back to the university
that has provided me with an exceptional education.

https://rde-stanford-edu.s3.amazonaws.com/
Dining/PDF/Stanford%20Dining%20Food%20
Ethos%202019.pdf

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Campus Dining Today Spring 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Campus Dining Today Spring 2021
