Food is a significant driver of global sustainability outcomes, and Ohio State recognizes the importance of students developing a lifelong appreciation for how their meal choices have larger social and environmental impacts.
To facilitate that education, Ohio State aims to increase the amount of local and sustainable food options it provides across its dining facilities to equal at least 40% of its food offerings within the next six years. Achieving that goal would place Ohio State among the leaders in higher education, particularly for large research institutions.
In addition, the university intends to expand student engagement through food-focused curriculum and on-campus experiential learning opportunities.
Executive Vice President and Provost Bruce McPheron and Interim Senior Vice President of Student Life Molly Calhoun in October accepted a report that details the pathway for Ohio State to achieve the 40% goal and related academic engagement.
A panel comprised of faculty, students, staff and external stakeholders engaged in over two years of intensive study, looking at current food sources and procurement practices, sustainability certification programs, and alternative strategies for achieving the goal, and wrote the “Purchasing 40 Percent Local and/or Sustainable Food by 2025” report.
“There is a lot of passion about food topics across Ohio State,” says Brian Snyder, executive director of Ohio State’s Initiative for Food & AgriCultural Transformation (InFACT) and food panel co-chair. “In particular, I give credit to Ohio State’s students, who not only championed the university’s adoption of a sustainable food goal, but who continue to implement numerous programs and projects related to food security and sustainability across our campuses.”
“Food is a central part of life that should be celebrated and bring people together,” Kaleigh O’Reilly, environmental science major and food panel co-chair, says. “However, making ill-informed choices about the food one eats can lead to negative social, economic, and health consequences. Implementing actions to achieve the local and sustainable food sourcing goal will be a big step toward creating an Ohio State culture that is mindful about how our individual choices can positively affect our environment and communities on a local, regional, and global level.”
Among other actions, the food panel report calls for:
- Continuously improving Ohio State’s local and sustainable food procurement results;
- Providing transparent updates on local, sustainable and Ohio-sourced purchases;
- Building a food system student-learning platform, starting with existing curriculum; and
- Encouraging and actively supporting sustainable practices within the local food system industry.
For one of the nation’s largest universities, with a complex food procurement network, Ohio State did not intend for the 40% goal to be an easy target upon its adoption in 2015. Rather, the goal serves as a learning opportunity for students, staff and faculty and as a demonstration that institutions can play a positive role in local agricultural economies and environmental stewardship.
With a commitment to providing the campus community with local and sustainable food options, Ohio State’s Dining Services has long sought to make these options available. However, the 40% goal sharpens the focus to identify and track food sources on a continuous and transparent basis.
“Ohio and our surrounding ‘foodshed’ is agriculturally bountiful,” says Zia Ahmed, senior director of Student Life Dining Services and food panel co-chair. “In so many ways, Ohio State has played a part in that success. We believe through our purchasing practices we help advance the university’s educational mission and continue Ohio State’s positive engagement with local, regional, national, and global agricultural communities.”
Moving forward, the Sustainability Institute at Ohio State will convene campus stakeholders to implement the recommendations put forth in the panel report.
Read or download the full panel report.
Ohio State Sustainability Goals