UC Global Food Initiative. Katie Maynard, Sustainability Coordinator, UCSB

Transcription

1 UC Global Food Initiative Katie Maynard, Sustainability Coordinator, UCSB

2 A Presidential Commitment; To leverage UC resources to sustainably and nutritiously feed the world by 2025

3 The UC Global Food Initiative was inspired by the many students, staff, faculty, and community leaders that President Napolitano met with when she came into office. Matching Bottom up and Top Down A clear need was identified and a vision for UC GFI was developed by President Napolitano. A challenge was posed to engage the campus community and hundreds of people across our campuses and national laboratories have taken up the challenge and added their own creativity to the effort.

4 Matching Bottom up and Top Down The UC Global Food Initiative encourages senior leadership to actively engage in a collective effort. creates an open dialogue that encourages creative problem solving and invention. empowers students and other campus stakeholders through forums, fellowships, and volunteer opportunities. offers resources to support start-up efforts.

5 264,426 Students (UC Wide April 2017) The Power of the UC System

6 Creative Passionate The Power of the UC System; Students A little naïve (and that is ok!) Educated on the most recent findings Possess the opportunity to engage in research and course projects Legacy of past student leadership

7 The Power of the UC System 100,000 k-12 students reached through outreach programs

8 The Power of the UC System 4,760 active U.S. patents (as of June 2016) 61 Noble Laureates 5 inventions per day

9 Collaboration Spurred

10 Big Successes Formed more than 20 working groups systemwide and engaged community through conferences and forums. Created the UC GFI Student Fellowship Program Developed Chancellor appointed committees on each campus to address Food Security of UC students. Commissioned the largest study done of a higher education system on Food Insecurity and found 42% of students surveyed were food insecure. Launched the Healthy Campus Network, to make UC the healthiest place to live, work and learn

11 UC Global Food Initiative Student Fellows

12 UC Fellows Research food policy intervention options for college students. Leading the development and execution of a digital, interactive map of the UC Berkeley foodscape. Exploring new ways to engage student and local communities in gardening and farming. Appling evaluative research to understand the impacts of community farms. Integration of sustainable food systems concepts into curriculum. Integrate seasonal menus into dining. Research into new agricultural methods to address global and ecological needs. Increase composting on campus. Collect and analyze data on food insecurity

13 Food Production Access and Security Topic Area Groups UC GFI Sourcing Policy and Public Impact Education and Comm.

14 Curriculum Operations Working Groups UC GFI Policy Research Service

15 A Diving Board Focused on projects that: can become self-funded by the sunset of the initiative. could be adopted by existing departments and programs. are likely to engage private donors or secure external funds after the launch. do not need ongoing funding (such as some policy changes.) could use this year to demonstrate the value and effectiveness to long term supporters.

16 Safety, Security and Sustainability A sustainable and just food system ensures that everyone has access to healthy, safe, affordable and sustainable foods of their choice.

17 Today I am going to talk about some of the issues that our campus needed to think through in developing food safety guidelines for food security projects. Disclaimer I am not an Environmental Health and Safety professional and will instead be speaking from the perspective of a stakeholder who was learning from EHS. I will not cover all the restrictions, guidelines, and practices that we adopted due to limited time. For detailed guidelines, please contact myself or our EHS Food Safety person, Shannon Hinrichs, after the talk for copies of our guides.

18 Community Food Production (AB 1990 GORDON) January 2015 Community Food Producer Guidelines Covers: Community Food Producer means a producer of agricultural products on land that is not zoned for agricultural use but is otherwise in compliance with applicable local land use and zoning restrictions, including, but not limited to, restrictions governing personal gardens, community gardens, school gardens, and culinary gardens Gleaner means a person who legally gathers remnants of an agricultural crop or harvests part of, or all of, an agricultural crop made available by the owner of the agricultural crop

19 Generally require best management practices. Community Food Producer Guidelines Local jurisdictions interpreting and developing local guidelines around AB Very new guidelines and so partnerships with the county health department and the campus health department has been critical. Offers a more manageable route to food safety approval than large-scale for-profit farm guidelines.

20 What does food security look like? Container gardens

21 Food safety Not a land use. All inputs are tracked. Easy to do with a container. Container that is at least three feet tall (the highest distance a Norwegian Brown Rat can jump). Focus on citrus fruit. Thick skins which are not eaten. Long shelf life. Good project to start learning about food safety practices and practice tracking logs.

22 Food Safety Logs Planting Pest tracking and management Watering and fertilizing Harvesting Maintenance and cleaning Trainings

23 What does food security look like? Hydroponics

24 What does food security look like? Campus gardens and farms

25 Land use which entails approvals from Design & Construction Services, Budget & Planning, and Long Range Planning. What does food security look like? Campus gardens and farms Coastal Commission and CEQA. Cultural and environmental resources assessment. Ability to expand container to be whole garden. Fencing surrounding location allowing for more control of the space as a whole. Operational guide drafted and initial round of vetting. Working through campus design and planning process currently.

26 Community Food Producer Guidelines focus on whole uncut fruits and vegetables. Understanding what to plant Learning from local health safety person on issues students are not aware of What should be boiled before being eaten (some beans) What has a short shelf life (berries) Which produce is better to keep the roots and leaves attached. What works with and without refrigeration. Availability of refrigeration (84 items without refrigeration and 110 with).

27 What does food security look like? Food Recovery

28 Self-stable (for example baked goods) What does food security look like? Food Recovery Ready made items (wrapped sandwiches and salads in single serving containers) End of quarter whole food donations Working our way up to prepared foods

29 What does food security look like? Food Recovery Good Samaritan Act: A good start but not a protection from all liability concerns What does In Good Faith mean?

30 What food can be collected? How is the food collected? What does food security look like? Food Recovery How is it transported? Whose automotive insurance is covering the travel? How will drivers be trained? Where is the food going? Will the distributor have the ability to store and distribute? Does the distributer have the proper permits?

31 Moving from campus to community Food waste from campus Transported by 1 st nonprofit (in county) Distributed by 2 nd nonprofit (in city)

32 Moving from community to campus Farm in County Transported by nonprofit (in city) Distributed by campus food pantry

33 Value of collaboration Environmental Health and Safety makes sure that our constituents are safe and healthy!

34 Value of collaboration EHS helps us understand laws and policies that would be difficult for campus partners to access and understand.

35 Value of collaboration Helps us sustain our programs. So many projects have been discontinued and run into challenges down the line due to not securing proper approvals from the start.

36 Adding a positive outlook on campus approvals Focus on the value and importance of the work of Environmental Health and Safety professionals. Emphasize the protections that are in place to protect communities that have been affected in the past and/or are vulnerable to future abuses. Connect to value for consumer protection.

37 Adding a positive outlook on campus approvals Stay positive and don t let small delays change your perspective. Emphasize the consensus based nature of the university. Emphasize the value of bringing together multiple diverse perspectives.

38 Working with campus approval bodies Always be clear about what approvals have or have not been secured and where you are in the approval process. Be upfront about what you are trying to accomplish and what restrictions you are working with. Avoid getting married to one approach or idea of how something should be done. Be a collaborative problem solver!

39 Working with campus approval bodies Give everyone the benefit of the doubt that they are trying to help and that their goals are likely the same as yours. Offer empathy, especially for campus staff that often have to say no and may not always be appreciated for doing so.

40 Questions Katie Maynard Sustainability Coordinator UC Santa Barbara