Kwantlen Polytechnic Universities food services helping with sustainability

By Sartaaj Bhullar

KPU’s Tim Hortons is a popular location for food (Photo by Sartaaj Bhullar)

After signing the Global Climate Letter, KPU's food services contract renewal is coming up and they will attempt to negotiate with a sustainability angle to it. Food services play an essential role in decreasing KPU's carbon footprint by finding different ways to help the university with sustainability.

KPU’s Surrey campus features different food options for students and faculty, including a Tim Hortons, Bistro Grille and The Grassroots Café.

KPU’s president Alan Davis expressed how food services is an important aspect of sustainability during an interview in January.

“We’re coming up for renewal on our food services contract and there’s no doubt that one of the things we look for in proposals for companies to come in and run our food services there’s going to be a very strong sustainability angle to that,” Davis said.

Director of ancillary services at KPU Karsten Purbs said KPU’s food services are provided by Sodexo, which is in consultation with the university on changes for sustainability. She also explained the process for the upcoming food services contract renewals.

“As part of the RFP process, vendors will be required to submit their sustainability practices as a company and their plans for the KPU campuses,” Purbs said. “Sustainability is a component of the evaluation process that will help to determine the successful food service provider for the future.”

Steven Courtney is the executive chef and general manager of Sodexo and he oversees the operations at the Langley, Surrey, and Richmond campuses for KPU.

“Sodexo is a contracted company, we supply different services in a bunch of different areas,” Courtney said. “For instance, we run facility maintenance contracts, in different hospitals or different schools. we run different food programs, we run health and in-home care programs. So, we got a nursing department, we got security, so we do security in correctional facilities.”

Sustainability is an essential part of Sodexo, which is why KPU has contracted them to head their food services.

Sodexo has a local initiative to develop and measure ways to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, conserve water, promote responsible waste management and reduce the use of toxic chemicals.

“We have tried to move away from as much plastic as possible,” Courtney said. “So, if there’s any plates or cutlery that we use in the cafeterias it’s all eco-friendly, it’s compostable or biodegradable.”

Sodexo introduces sustainability to KPU’s food services in multiple ways. This includes Xpress Nap dispensers, which save energy and waste. Since the napkins are made up of 100 per cent recycled paper, they save energy by using less power through recycling paper instead of other material. Waste is reduced as the dispensers encourage people to take fewer napkins and not waste the rest.

“There’s other programs like we got our re-usable cup incentive program. For everyone who purchases a coffee in a reusable cup not only do they get a cheaper price they get discount on top of that,” Courtney said. “Plus, we have a loyalty purchase card as well. So, if you buy nine coffee in a reusable cup, you get your tenth coffee free. That just goes to trying to reduce the amount of single use items we do use.”

Companies that help the university also place importance on sustainability and reducing their carbon footprint.

“In a larger umbrella all our purchasing goes through specific supplies, who are working on or have mandated to lower their carbon footprint,” Courtney said. “For instance, one of our major suppliers is Maple Leaf Foods, who is the first large suppliers in Canada to be carbon neutral."

Courtney and the Sodexo team at KPU are minimizing their carbon footprint in ways that would help outside of the cafeteria and other food services.

KPU has two different farms for their farming program, one in Tsawwassen and another in Richmond. The Tsawwassen Farm Nation School is a partnership between KPU and Tsawwassen’s First Nation, which is an 11-acre working farm, while the Richmond Farm School is for smaller acre farms about one-quarter to one-half acre. Courtney said the farms help provide food services with organic and local fruits and vegetables.

“It’s not being driven in a truck anywhere. We’re literally picking it up from across the street from Richmond and walking it over,” Courtney said. “Not only is it helping the university but at the same time we know that its organic and we know we’re not using pesticides and we’re lowering that carbon footprint.”

Students are important in KPU’s reduction of their carbon footprint as their suggestions help the school and their food services.

“I’ve been investigating, and I’ve been in touch with the student council and going through some list of concerns,” Courtney said. “Stuff where people would like to see a reusable cup program for coffee in the cafeteria. That’s on our to do list but if stuff comes to our attention, I am able to make those changes at a site level.”