• Residence Halls are Embracing Composting: Wendy Robins, Sustainability Operations Manager, had students from Residence Halls all over campus come in and pick up over 20 compost buckets. The Halls fill their buckets and bring them back to the University Center to be emptied into the Dining & Culinary Services compost buckets.

• Meal Plan & Nutrition Forum: Tuesday, October 2nd at 7:30pm in UC Room 133. A professional from Momentum Nutrition & Fitness providde assistance for students to make nutritionally sound choices on a budget, reviewed current food selections on appropriateness students on a budget and developed educational materials for PLU to assist students in making the cost effective choices while maintaining a high level of nutrition. See her handouts here: Healthy Eating Guide with prices and Recommended Food List

• Director Erin McGinnis Spoke with RHA and Senate: On September 24 and 25, 2007 Erin spoke with both RHA and Senate about the Campus-Wide Meal Plan Conversations and helped to answer their questions about this year's new meal plan.

• Campus-Wide Meal Plan Conversations: September 24-28 students had a chance to stop in the University Center and talk with student leaders, faculty, staff and administrators to share their ideas and suggestions. See the ad that ran in The Mast on Friday, September 21, 2007

• Alumni Board Enjoys a Sustainability Presentation: September 29th, Erin McGinnis, Dining & Culinary Services Director shared a PowerPoint presentation with the Alumni Board explaining what the department is doing to operate sustainably. Check out the presentation here

---

Actions Taken for Change in Fall 2007

Broad, Big Picture Issues

• Early Bird Breakfasts: Saturday mornings 8:30am-9:30am students now have the opportunity to enjoy a hot breakfast for a fixed price of $5.49.

• Added Meals Away Option: This feature will supplement a student's all-you-care-to-eat meals when they are unable to be on campus for that meal period. The pilot program began on September 24th. The order form is on our website here

• Supper Hour: Began in The Commons in October and ran through J-Term. In February, Supper Hour moved down to Tahoma Bakery & Café from 7:30pm-8:30pm

Fine Tuning—Simple Fixes
• Added salad dressing in dispensers to give customers the choice of portion control packets. Will continue to add salad dressing varieties and other salad bar items throughout the semester. (Comment Cards/Emails)

• Added bagel flavors, changed price of waffles, added strawberry waffles. (Chef's Table discussion)

• Added tofu option to Cross Cultures entrées. (Numerous Requests)

• Added make your own waffles to Lunch and Dinner Saturday. (Comment card)

• Added menu items to Kelley Café and will continue to add throughout the semester. (Numerous Requests)

• Added plain chicken breast option to Crave. (Numerous Requests)

• Added items to Good Things: veganaise, vegan cream cheese, gluten free bread, organic peanut butter & jelly.

• Reduced prices on milk, juice, soda in The Commons. (Numerous Requests)

• Reduced the price of the peanut butter & jelly sandwich at all units.

Other Fall Events

• Supper Hour in The Commons: Open 7:30pm-8:30pm starting Monday, October 22nd. The Commons will be serving a limited menu for late service, cereals, soup, salad and beverages. This ran in the Commons through J-Term. In Spring, Supper Hour moved down to Tahoma Bakery & Café for 7:30pm-8:30pm

• UC Refuse Pounds Reduced: Total poundage of garbage down 44%! The first pickup this school year was Oct. 5, 2007 and was 14,640 lbs. In September 2006 the total was 26,460 lbs and that was for 4 pickups. We are composting almost all of our food waste and the bookstore is no longer sharing the UC garbage facilities.

• Residence Hall Forums: The week of October 22nd, Erin McGinnis, Dining & Culinary Services Director, and Management staff will be visiting the residence halls for open forums to discuss the changes in Dining & Culinary Services. We encourage all students to participate!
• Lunch with the Dining Director: Chef’s Table meetings with Erin McGinnis, Director of Dining Services. Sign up here to set up a lunch or snack meeting this week with Erin for an informal discussion of current issues. This has continued on through Spring Term.