Food Sustainability

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 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: Attend One Earth Science and Society Seminar (Jan. 10th, 17th, 24th, or 31st)

Description: Attend one Geoscience and Society Seminar during January. These seminars occur every Friday in Tracy Hall Room 211 from 12:30 - 1:30 pm and are open to students, faculty, and staff. January's theme is "Climate & Environment: The Problems We Face". Learn more about the series and the schedule here.  

Time Commitment: 1 hour

Required Documentation: Check in at the event and write 3-4 sentences about what lecture you attended and what you learned.

Action 2: Volunteer to Educate Students about Composting in the Shepherd Union (Jan. 21st-31st) 

Description: Help bring awareness to our compost bins and educate students on how to compost appropriately at Weber State! We have launched a post-consumer composting program at WSU in the Shepherd Union, Tracy Hall, and NOORDA. Now, we need help spreading the word about compost and how to compost properly to avoid contamination and help us divert waste from landfills.

• When: January 21st-January 31st from 11:00 AM-1:00 PM every day. *There will be shifts listed on GivePulse*
• Where: Shepherd Union food court 

*Sign up to volunteer via GivePulse here.

Time Commitment: 1 hour

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

Action 3: Attend the Free Sustainability Film with SPARC (Jan. 23rd)

Description: Attend this month's Sustainability Screenings with SPARC featuring "Common Ground." The film highlights a hopeful movement of different farming communities using regenerative and sustainable agriculture to promote climate balance and food sustainability in the United States. Everyone is welcome to attend, and there will be free popcorn! See details below:

• When: January 23rd from 12:00 pm - 1:15 pm
• Where: Shepherd Union, Wildcat Theater

Time Commitment: 1 hour+

Required Documentation: Check in at the event and write 3-4 sentences about what you learned from the film.

Action 4: Attend or Volunteer at The Plant-Powered Food Tasting Event (Jan. 28th)

Description: Discover the delicious world of plant-based foods and learn about their benefits for your health and the environment. This event will take place in the Shepherd Union buildings Pillar Plaza from 10:30 AM-1:00 PM. Help us vote for which foods are best, and if you have a tight schedule, feel free to drop in and out if you have limited time between classes. 

Join others interested in plant-based eating by signing up here to participate in exciting Food Recovery Network (FRN) events and activities like the food tasting! 

Time Commitment: Varies from 10 mins - 2 hours (dependent on whether you are attending or volunteering).

Required Documentation: Upload a photo of you at the food tasting or the food you tasted.

Action 5: Attend The Garden Club Composting Workshop *(Feb. 7th)

Description: Join the WSU Garden Club and WSU Employee Wellness for a composting workshop from 12:00-1:30 pm at the Employee Wellness Annex (A29). This educational and hands-on event will give you first-hand experience in composting, covering the benefits of reducing your food waste and what compost consists of. Additionally, you get to take home a complimentary compost bucket of your own!

To find this event's location and RSVP, visit GivePulse (limited availability). 

Time Commitment: 1 hour

Required Documentation: Check in at the event and upload a photo of your compost bin.

Action 6: Volunteer With The Food Recovery Network

Description: Volunteer with the Food Recovery Network (FRN) to recover food on Tuesdays or Fridays. Surplus food is packed up from dining services and delivered to either the Lantern House or the Weber Cares Food Pantry. For the spring 2025 semester, recoveries will be held each Tuesday and Friday from 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM. If you have any questions regarding recoveries, please email: foodrecoverynetwork@weber.edu.

• To volunteer with the Food Recovery Network, you must sign up through Givepulse (availability limited).

Time Commitment: 30 minutes - 1 hour (varies by food recovery)

Required Documentation: Check in at the event & upload a photo of yourself volunteering at the food recovery.

Action 7: 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 8: 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 course you took and what you learned.

Action 9: 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 10: 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 11: 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 12: 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