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Investigating the desirability and feasibility of incorporating more local, seasonal and sustainably produced food products into the Agricultural Student's Undergraduate Society (AgUS) weekly BBQ menus

University of British Columbia. Sustainability Office

Institutions obtain food from large distributors, giving no support to local farms. As a result, food traveling long distance causes an absence of fresh food choices in the market as well as a lack of community awareness in regards to food origin and food production methods. With this in mind, we initiated a project to improve food security as well as sustainability of the AgUS Wednesday Night Barbeque (BBQ) dinners. In the past, the University of British Columbia Food Security Project (UBCFSP)’s goal was to strengthen the relationship between the Agricultural Student’s Undergraduate Society (AgUS) and UBC farm. In our project, we have opted to focus mainly on the BBQ with consideration for various factors: the relationship with neighbouring farms, sustainability (seasonal, local, and affordable), cultural, the development of a nutritious food menu, and building up connections within the Land and Food Systems (LFS) community. In essence, we have integrated all the knowledge obtained over the years from the Land, Food, and Community series into the BBQ. The project established a relationship between AgUS and neighbouring farms and reiterated the main concept within LFS – the connection between land and food. The ecological footprint of the BBQ has been analyzed and evaluated. A faculty wide survey was developed in collaboration with Group 14 and sent out to the LFS community. Menus were developed accordingly and their nutritional content analyzed. Utilizing these menus, neighbouring farms were contacted as suppliers for the BBQ. Finally, the BBQ’s ecological footprint was reanalyzed taking into consideration the suggested changes. This UBCFSP will then be passed on to next year’s AgUS committee. Upon approval, the recommendations will be implemented for the 2008-2009 school year. This project can serve as a guide for future implementations of sustainable food services within other faculties to further improve UBC food security. Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”

Text

University of British Columbia. AGSC 450; UBC Social Ecological Economic Development Studies (SEEDS) Student Report

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0108725

Land and Food Systems, Faculty of

Unreviewed

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ca/