dining services – The Hilltop Monitor

Sustainability in the Dining Hall: Where does your food go?

Stephen Herrera — Sat, 21 Nov 2015 03:31:25 +0000

Every day, Jewell students choose a side of the dining room, eat their food, laugh with friends and scrape their plates into the small trashcans by the tray line. But what happens next? Fresh Ideas Food Service at William Jewell College has fully committed itself to sustainability through recycling, expediency and collaboration with the community. The process begins in the kitchen.

As the culinary staff prepares our food before every meal, they have the entire kitchen area organized to accommodate two waste receptacles. First are the “black bag” trashcans. The black bags are specifically used to contain all non-recyclable items that cannot be used any further by the school. Before being disposed of, these bags are taken to a small room in the bottom floor of the Union and sorted to ensure that no recyclable items are missed. The remaining items in the black bags are then taken directly to the trash receptacle behind the Union.

Though the process adds a significant level of time commitment to the process, “the process is worth it in the long-term,” said Kiki Strecker, catering director at Jewell.

Second are the “green bags.” These same bags we scrape our uneaten food into in the cafeteria are taken downstairs to check for items that will make recycling more difficult. Because glass is both a safety concern and a liability issue, the College makes sure that all glass is disposed of with the black bags.

Fresh Ideas encourages students to take part in the sustainability of their cafeteria and the food that passes through it.

“Leftovers that cannot be utilized in other ways are composted, along with paper products. When in the dining hall, please place organic waste in the blue ‘compost’ waste cans. This will be diverted from the landfill, composted and returned to campus for use in our landscaping and community garden,” according to the Jewell Dining Services website.

According to Dining Services, every aspect of the jobs in the Cage, Perch and cafeteria is influenced by sustainability policies. Students are encouraged to put on their plates only what they believe they will eat to avoid increased waste of food and any unnecessary additional preparation for future meals. In order to aid in this process, Dining Service members all eat their meals after the dining hall has closed in order to avoid unnecessary leftovers.

According to the World Resources Institute, approximately 33 percent of the food produced across the globe every year is wasted. In the U.S. alone, up to 40 percent of our food goes completely unused. In the end, this can total up to 20 pounds of food per person per month.

The Jewell cafeteria reportedly takes every opportunity it has to “stay green.”

“Every aspect of the dining process at Jewell is designed to promote sustainability. While other schools use styrofoam plates on visitor days, a far cheaper alternative, we ensure that every item that can be recyclable will be recycled,” said Strecker.

Jewell’s “Green and Go” program seeks to ensure that any item used by Jewell Dining Services, from boxes to tumblers, are recycled or reused. The process isn’t always easy to maintain. Because the company that handles the waste from our cafeteria has strict limitations, Dining Services managers have to put in extra work to ensure that what we send to be recycled will be responsibly managed.

“Glass and misplaced non-recyclable items have to be sorted on a daily basis. Although it adds a significant amount of work to sustain this process, we believe that it is worth every cent,” said Strecker.

For more information, you can visit the Fresh Ideas website.

Dining Services receives award and welcomes changes

Athena Palmer — Fri, 06 Nov 2015 16:00:46 +0000

This month the William Jewell College cafeteria won the Liberty Award Program and was named “Best of 2015 Food & Restaurants.” This award gives recognition to local businesses in the area that have demonstrated the ability to use their best practices to generate competitive advantages and long-term values.

More specifically, the Award Program annually identifies the companies that they believe have achieved marketing success in their community and business category.

“The Award Program was established to recognize the best of local businesses in our community. This organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations and other business advertising and marketing groups. Their mission is to recognize the small business community’s contributions to the U.S. economy. Candidates are nominated by people within the local community” said Taylor Strecker, director of Dining Services.

In addition to receiving an award this year, the dining hall staff has also been making changes to the food options in the cafeteria.

Strecker speaks about the inspiration behind some of the new, healthier dining options.

“Student feedback is the main inspiration. We also have a new certified executive chef this semester, Chef Jim Tinkham” said Strecker.

Chef Tinkham is the President of the American Culinary Federation of Kansas City. He was recently awarded the title of Chef of the Year for 2014-2015.

“He is one of the top chefs in the city right now and certainly one of the most respected. We are very lucky to have him on our team. We also have a new Sous Chef, Chef Bryce Klein, who is a certified sous chef. He has worked for Michael Smith at Extra Virgin, The Elms Resort, Affare and 801 Fish. This is a top notch leadership team in the kitchen.

“Look for some new and exciting offerings coming in the Cage next semester,” said Strecker.

This year the dining hall staff has been paying closer attention to accommodating students with allergies and specific diets. They have been changing the menus to meet the needs of the students and faculty. When they hear that a dish was not so successful, they take it out of rotation and try something new.

“When you are trying to keep over 1000 people happy that all come from varying backgrounds, nationalities and cultures, it’s a daily challenge. Our goal is to keep pace with student tastes without forgetting the basics: to provide a welcoming, comfortable counterpoint to the stresses of college life and help students develop a lifelong relationship with healthy, delicious, fresh ‘real food.’”

“If our cashiers, servers, cooks and leaders feel like family, if our dining hall feels like home, if students look forward to relaxing with their friends over a delicious meal cooked especially for them, then we are doing our part to enhance the overall educational experience,” said Tinkham.

Food allergies are on the rise – but why?

Alexandria Acord — Fri, 01 May 2015 22:05:35 +0000

After much surveying by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), concrete support has been found for a theory that many scientists in the field have been hypothesizing for years: food allergies are rising at a seemingly unprecedented rate. Their prevalence among children has risen approximately 50 percent in the years between 1997 and 2011, and food allergies now affect around 15 million Americans. While these allergies can range in intensity and symptoms, they have nevertheless become part of the collegiate landscape, even extending to smaller scale institutions such as William Jewell College. Fresh Ideas and the cafeteria system are working on the front lines of this rise in student allergies. Meticulous labeling has popped up on the buffet lines to ensure students and faculty do not accidentally consume certain items. In addition, the existing request system continues, allowing diners to customize their meals in order to fit their specific dietary needs.

A definite answer is not currently available as to why there is such a surge of food allergies in the modern world. What scientists, doctors and nutritionists do know has nevertheless already begun to revolutionize the way people look at these illnesses and how to diagnose or further prevent agitating them. For instance, about 10 percent of allergy sufferers are unaffected by any of the “common allergens” and are instead provoked by other foods. The vast majority of allergies are triggered by eight specific ingredients: eggs, peanuts, milk, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat. It is possible to have a negative reaction to more than one of these, as about a third of the 90 percent affected by the eight allergens do.

Not only that, but despite previously-held beliefs that allergies begin exclusively in childhood, they can appear at any time in one’s life, sometimes without warning. For instance, Amelia Hanzlick, senior, first discovered she had a gluten allergy in her junior year of high school when she visited France as part of a study abroad project.

“It took a long time to discover that I have gluten allergies,” Hanzlick said. “In the beginning it was difficult, but as time went on it was easier to handle. Sometimes it is more difficult to find satisfying options at restaurants or places I go with friends, but I have learned to find something wherever I go. [Fresh Ideas Chefs] Jen, Kiki and Rob are all very well versed in what is gluten free and what isn’t.”

On the other side of the spectrum, those diagnosed in childhood can sometimes find that their allergies wane as they age or disappear completely. Betsy Tucker, first-year, was once allergic to three out of the eight common triggers but is now only allergic to peanuts. While she once went into anaphylactic shock, an extreme reaction to allergens marked by reduced blood pressure and difficulty breathing, she now finds that she can easily avoid those foods to which her body does not react well. She acknowledges that her allergy is fairly manageable compared to what she has seen in some other people.

“Peanuts aren’t in everything like gluten, and my allergy is pretty mild,” said Tucker. “[They] aren’t standard recipes for most meals, and when they are, there’s always an alternative.”

Tucker believes that allergies stem from the emphasis on sterilization and sanitation in modern culture. Allergies are caused by oversensitive immune systems mistaking certain non-pathogens as dangers within the body and attacking them in the same way as they would a bacterium or virus. Those scientists, who support the “hygiene hypothesis,” believe that with more pathogens being removed by external forces like hand sanitizers and vaccinations, the immune system stops recognizing the difference between a threat and a common item and as such begins to turn on its own energy sources. While the hygiene hypothesis has yet to be proven, there are many pieces of evidence that support it, such as the relative lack of food allergies in non-Western countries.

However, contesting theories place the blame upon other factors. The GMO debate questions whether increased use of genetic modification leads to an increase in allergies. Evidence often cited for this argument is the fact that one of the most commonly modified plants, wheat, is also among the most common allergens. Not enough studies have been completed to prove that GMOs have negative effects on the human body. Other speculations include changes in manufacturing and increased awareness of the issue.

Regardless of which theory eventually prevails, preparations are already being made for members of the next generation, who will serve as the testing ground to see if such an increase can repeat itself. Parents are now recommended to expose their children to as many potential allergens as possible even within the womb, for instance, in order to see if desensitization can solve the problem. Food items are being made with heightened precision and stringency to avoid contact with allergens and to combat cross-contamination. No matter what the means may be, the world is becoming increasingly aware of food allergies.

Fresh Ideas, Fresh Outlook

Alexandria Acord — Fri, 06 Mar 2015 23:52:55 +0000

Though mainly known for its cafeteria work throughout campus, Fresh Ideas is currently seeking to expand its horizons to create a more sophisticated dining experience for students. Through analysis of current dietary trends and an emphasis on sustainability, the company aims to create a socially conscious, higher-end cafeteria system available for all William Jewell College students. Due in part to its ambitious executive chef, Matt Chatfield, Fresh Ideas is easing into numerous changes, which will include inventory expansion at the Cage and an increased emphasis on student awareness of cafeteria workings.

Unlike many K-12 dietary services students have experienced in the past, Fresh Ideas does not rely on packaged products to run its business. Chatfield estimates that 80 percent of items found in the cafeteria are completely handmade on the Jewell premises, including such items as “sauces to bakery [goods] to fresh produce,” with some of the herbs used in meals even grown on site in a garden outside the Yates-Gill Student Union.

In addition, Fresh Ideas has a deal with a produce company that sources only sustainably grown, in-season fruits and vegetables from local farms. As farm-to-fork and similar local farming movements grow in popularity, Chatfield aims to promote Jewell’s easy access to ecologically sound, guilt-free produce as a selling point for both college and cafeteria alike.

Another way that growing trends in the culinary world influence Fresh Ideas is through direct planning of dishes. The majority of those in the cafeteria are trained chefs who came to Jewell for greater job flexibility and shorter work weeks. A few have been executive chefs before coming to the College, giving the cafeteria the ability to craft more complicated meals that other facilities would not have the aptitude to create. Just as high-end restaurants constantly research new ethnic dishes and other items in great demand with their clientele, the Fresh Ideas chefs rely on dietary trends to create an ever-changing menu. For instance, one of the newest additions is the option for dessert sampling. At most meals, miniature versions of cakes and other baked goods are available so students can taste multiple flavors and pastries without having to worry too much about portion control.

Fresh Ideas will also continue to promote their accommodation system, which provides special services for a diverse number of circumstances and diets. After consulting with Student Life, a student with a particular need meets with the cafeteria staff in order to reach a mutual agreement on how to proceed. Customization options range from specific food allergies (gluten, dairy and nuts are some allergens the chefs commonly deal with) to doctor or coach-prescribed diets. From there, the chefs continue to work with the students and often ask them for input as to which food items they might want for the future. The system is designed so that even if items meeting a particular client’s sensitivities are not directly on the buffet line, the chefs will still be able to make a meal that coheres to these needs.

Above all, Chatfield emphasizes, what he hopes will separate Fresh Ideas from other school cafeteria systems is a particular emphasis on kind, understanding employees willing to forge relationships with their diners.

“[I] really want to let students know that we are here for their meal needs, that we really care about the quality of the experience,” Chatfield said.

In Fresh Ideas’ perspective and in his own, meals are just that: an experience. Through an emphasis on authenticity, cleanliness and sustainability, Chatfield hopes to cultivate an environment of trust and familiarity within the cafeteria.