Sustainable Dining at UVA: Green Dining Meeting Minutes, 1/30/12

I haven't done this before, but thought it would be informative to post the minutes from Green Dining meetings on the blog for public viewing. This set is from our meeting held this past Monday. Email me or leave a comment if you have any feedback!

1. RecycleMania. It's that time of the year again - RecycleMania gets underway this coming week and UVa is competing against other schools around the country for bragging rights about our recycling efforts! Weekly updates will be posted around Grounds. More info at http://recyclemania.org/.

2. Virginia Food Security Summit. The Food Security Summit in December was a success. The main focus of the event was to review and informally launch the Virginia Farm To Table plan, which is currently offline as it moves from draft to final phase. In the meantime, the event organizers have put together a great summary about the summit. Videos are also available, all at http://virginiafoodsummit.org/.

3. Meat Free Monday station. Dining has introduced a new set of dishes at the Newcomb, Runk, and O'Hill Meat Free Monday stations. Try out such yummy dishes over the coming weeks as Spinach & Chickpea Curry over Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Falafel Pita Wrap, and Apple & Butternut Squash soup!

4. Guest blog posts. I'm looking for some of you to do a stint as a guest blogger on the Green Dining blog (that would be this site!). Whether you'd like to advertise an upcoming event, review a sustainable Dining program, or discuss various food system goings on, get in touch with me.

5. World Water Day, March 22. This year's World Water Day theme is "Water & Food Security", which is a great opportunity to connect the dots between our water and food supplies. Leave a comment on the UVa Sustainability facebook page if you have any suggestions for groups to attend the WWD info fair on 3/22, or ways for the University to celebrate. More info at http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/.

6. Waste Management questions.
-Is it possible to expand the reusable to-go container program to include cups?
-Is it possible for Dining to offer reusable mugs at on-Grounds cafes?
-Is it possible to offer reusable to-go containers at the food trucks? Update: this is in the works at our Ka-pow truck!

7. Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood App. If you'd like to download: http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_iPhone.aspx

8. Morven Summer Institute. Morven is offering its summer institute program again this year. Learn more: http://www.virginia.edu/summer/morven.html.

Enjoy the photos of our working group in session!