Food Sustainability

Instructions: To obtain your Food Sustainability badge, it is recommended that you complete the following by February 2, 2024.

  • Complete Prerequisite

  • Complete 2 Actions of your choosing

  • Submit Form

**Only submit the form once you have completed all of your actions. Remember, you only have to complete the prerequisite and 2 additional actions of your choosing. You do not have to complete all of the actions to earn your badge.   

Submit Form Here

 

Prerequisite: 

Prerequisite Action: Create a Meal Using Food Items Already in Your Kitchen

Description: Reduce food waste by using food items in your fridge, pantry, or both to make a meal. Use Yummly, Super Cook, or a similar app, to input food items from your pantry (or any local food pantry such as Weber Cares Pantry) to generate a personalized recipe.

Time Commitment: 1 hour

Required Documentation: Write 3-4 sentences about the app you used and what you made.  

Choose at Least Two of the Following Actions: 

Action 1: Volunteer to Make Meal Kits for the Weber Cares Pantry (Jan. 18th)

Description: The Food Sustainability Committee is partnering with Pre-Med to host an event to assemble Meal Kits! “Overall, 38.8% of Utah higher education students experienced food insecurity in 2021 (Utah Higher Education 2021 Food Security Report).” To combat this, we will be building meal kits and ready-to-eat food for students and their families to have access to nutritious and balanced meals. Join us and receive volunteer hours! 

  • When: January 18th, 2024 5:00-8:00 pm 
  • Where: Stewart Library, Hetzel Hoellein (Room 321)

Please sign up through Givepulse.

Time Commitment: 1 hour - 3 hours

Required Documentation: Upload a photo of you at the event.

 

Action 2: Sample Meatless Options at the Plant-Powered Food Tasting (Jan. 22nd)

Description: The Sustainable Clubs are partnering with Sodexo to bring awareness of meatless options that are available on campus! Swing by to sample complimentary plant-based protein choices! 

  • When: January 22nd, 2024 11:30 am-1:30 pm 
  • Where: Shepherd Union Atrium 

If you would like to volunteer, please RSVP with this GivePulse link

Time Commitment: 10 minutes

Required Documentation: Write 3-4 sentences about the meatless options you sampled and which was your favorite. 

 

Action 3: Attend the Free Sustainability Film (Jan. 25th)

Description: Attend SPARC's Free Sustainability Film in the Wildcat Theater from 12:00-2:00 p.m. January's film is Kiss the Ground. "Kiss the Ground is an inspiring and groundbreaking film that reveals the first viable solution to our climate crisis. Activists, scientists, farmers, and politicians turn to regenerative agriculture to save the planet's topsoil and a whole lot more."

Time Commitment: 2 hours (may vary depending on film)

Required Documentation: Write 3-4 sentences about what you learned from the film.

 

Action 4: Volunteer With The Food Recovery Network

Description: The WSU Chapter of the Food Recovery Network (FRN) regularly recovers uneaten food from dining services that would have been thrown away. Food recovered by FRN is taken to the Lantern House, a local homeless shelter, and/or the Weber Cares Pantry.

To volunteer with the food recovery network, sign-up through Givepulse TBD.

Time Commitment: Varies from 30 mins - 2 hours (dependent on the amount of the food recovered)

Required Documentation: Upload a photo of you with the recovered food.

 

Action 5: Take a Food Preservation Class and/or Preserve Your Food

Description: Food preservation (canning and freezing) helps reduce food waste and provides a way to eat local produce through the off-season. Utah State University offers several courses (usually in Spring, but there are a few online or on-demand courses) and additional preservation resources here

Time Commitment: 1 hour + 

Required Documentation: Write 3-4 sentences about the course you took or the food you have chosen to preserve.

 

Action 6: Take a "Create Better Health" Online Course

Description: Create Better Health classes are available online! This self-paced course is available at no cost to those who qualify. Lessons include stretching food dollars, meal planning strategies, quick and easy recipes that fit into a busy schedule, along with recipe demonstrations and an explanation of basic cooking skills. Learn more here

Time Commitment: varies 

Required Documentation: Write 3-4 sentences about what you learned.

 

Action 7: Donate Money, Time, or Food to a Local Food Pantry

Description: There are a lot of ways to help out your local food pantry. Whether that is community service, money, or food donations, click here for information about Weber Cares Pantry and other local food assistance programs. 

Time Commitment: varies

Required Documentation: Write 3-4 sentences about your experience and what you donated.

 

Action 8: Regrow Some Vegetables From Kitchen Scraps

Description: Eliminate the need to buy veggies from the store and regrow them from home using a small pot of soil or jar of water. Click here for a quick overview of a few vegetables you can quickly regrow from cuttings.

Time Commitment: 15-30 minutes

Required Documentation:  Submit a photo of your setup to regrow a vegetable.

 

Action 9: Reduce Food Waste 

Description: Over the course of a week, track and/or weigh the preventable food waste your household produces and throws away. Per the EPA, "Preventable food waste is both food you bought to eat but has since spoiled and food that was prepared but not eaten and was then thrown away. Non-Edible food waste is everything you wouldn't normally eat, such as banana peels, egg shells, apple cores, and chicken bones." Click here for an example log sheet. Utah State University has a great resource on food waste and possible solutions. 

Time Commitment: 1.5 hours over the course of a week

Required Documentation: Write 3-4 sentences about how much was thrown away & what changes could be made to reduce food waste in the future.

 

Action 10: Make A Plant-Based Meal

Description: Find a plant-based recipe of your choice, gather your ingredients, and create your meal! Plant-based meals are often just as tasty as animal-based meals. By reducing how much meat you consume, you can significantly reduce your carbon & water footprints. Check out "A Guide to a Sustainable Garden and Kitchen" for more info and some plant-based recipes.

Time Commitment: 1 hour

Required Documentation: Write 3-4 sentences on your experience. Don't forget to give yourself 5/5 stars!

 

Innovation Action:

Description: Innovative actions are welcome, but please email greenbadge@weber.edu for approval before submitting this as one of your actions.

Time Commitment: varies

Required Documentation: varies