FAIR FOODCHALLENGE

WHAT COULD A FAIR FOOD UNIVERSITY LOOK LIKE?

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INTRODUCTION 4MISSION STATEMENT 6A GLOBAL MOVEMENT 7FAIR FOOD GOALS OVERVIEW 8SUSTAINABILITY 10ACCESS & EQUITY 14HEALTH 18EDUCATION 22INNOVATION & OPPORTUNITY 26PROCUREMENT & RETAIL 30RESOURCING & ACCOUNTABILITY 34FAIR FOOD UNIVERSITY QUESTIONNAIRE 37THE FAIR FOOD PLEDGE 39PROJECTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD 40FURTHER READING 43GET IN TOUCH AND GET INVOLVED 44ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 45

CONTENTS

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It is easy to be complacent about food. An integral part of our everyday lives, its ubiquity can lead to us to forget how important it is. The food we eat has health, social, economic and ecological implications. While our choices about food can have negative effects on our bodies, our society, our economy and our environment, it can also make us healthier and more connected. Good food has the power to transform our communities and we believe it has the power to transform our institutions.

In this report we use the term ‘fair food’ widely. The term fair food encompasses sustainability, ethics and health. Fair food is produced and consumed in an environmentally sustainable manner.

Fair food is produced, sourced, distributed and sold ethically and humanely.

Fair food is distributed equitably and fresh, healthy, good quality food is available to all.

Last year at the University of Melbourne students spent $29.3 million at food and beverage outlets, while staff spent $7.3 million. Imagine if that money were spent buying food that went into our local economies, supporting producers who looked after the environment, their workers and their animals.

All around the world tertiary institutions have adopted policies to take responsibility for the food that comes through their campuses. Until now such plans have been relatively rare in Australia and

we believe that the time has come to unify our campus food systems. We can connect students, academics, administrators, business owners and facilities and services staff to work together to effect positive change. We want to use food as a lens to think about transforming our environments. To eliminate food waste, to improve our public health and to support research, innovation and entrepreneurship. We want to ensure students are well fed and have access to nutritious, fulfilling and culturally appropriate food. We want to know that when we make a purchase our food passed through the hands of workers who were fairly paid and enjoyed the luxury of safe working conditions.

Students are getting their hands dirty, coming together in community gardens, kitchens, and co-ops to equip themselves with skills to build the food system they want to see. In classrooms students are enrolling in food-related subjects in higher numbers than ever before and food studies is emerging as its own discipline. Over the past year we have undertaken research and conducted surveys to better understand our current food culture. Here we are presenting you with an overview of what we have seen so far and our hopes for fair food universities.

The Fair Food Challenge has engaged in a process of student-led co-design to draft a series of Fair Food Principles for Australian Universities. The seven pillars on which we are building our vision for a fair food university are:

sustainability • access & equity • health • education • innovation & opportunity • procurement and retail • resourcing and accountability

WHAT COULD A FAIR FOOD UNIVERSITY LOOK LIKE?

Interdisciplinary teams working together to research food system challenges while students undertake subjects in nutrition, crop science, food politics, agroecology and horticulture. Local producers dropping off seasonal produce at a food hub to be distributed to on-campus businesses and colleges. Community kitchens filled with students sharing recipes, teaching each other good food skills and cooking with campus-grown ingredients. A campus in which green spaces grow edibles and organic waste becomes part of a circular economy.

INTRODUCTION

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These are supported by forty Fair Food Principles which, if met, will work towards transforming our institutions, and by extension, our food system.

The report is structured around these pillars, creating an argument for why universities must take notice of their food environments. It also celebrates the good things that are already happening and provides examples of successful initiatives from around the world. We have included a job description for a campus food system co-ordinator and a rationale for a campus food system working group. At the end we have drafted a fair food questionnaire so you can establish the extent to which your university is practicing Fair Food Principles and identify the areas in which you need to improve.

We want to create a knowledge base for the good things that are happening on our campuses and create a community of shared learning so we can cross-pollinate good ideas between universities. We believe in open-source knowledge, collaboration and sharing.

This report is a draft. We are looking forward to receiving your feedback to refine our goals and principles and to build a more complete picture of the possibilities for fair food environments on Australian campuses. Asking What Could a Fair Food University Look Like is just the beginning. If you would like to work with us to transform your institution’s food environment, please get in touch. We can’t wait to hear from you.

Sophie Lamond,CoordinatorFair Food Challenge

“OUR FOOD SYSTEM FACES MANY SERIOUS ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES, PARTICULARLY FROM CLIMATE CHANGE AND DECREASING SUPPLIES OF THE NATURAL RESOURCES THAT UNDERPIN FOOD PRODUCTION – LIKE LAND, WATER AND FOSSIL FUELS. IT’S IMPORTANT THAT AUSTRALIAN UNIVERSITIES LEAD IN ADDRESSING THESE CHALLENGES BY PROMOTING ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE, FAIR AND HEALTHY FOOD ON CAMPUS, AND BY SUPPORTING INNOVATIVE, INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH TO MEET THESE CHALLENGES.” DR RACHEL CAREY, RESEARCH FELLOW, THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

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The Fair Food Challenge is empowering university communities to build a fair, healthy and accessible food system.

We believe universities must exercise leadership in our society. We are working with institutions to develop and implement comprehensive fair food plans to transform campus food environments. We recognise that campuses must provide healthy food environments, access to affordable food and access to skills and opportunities to grow, buy, cook, eat and share good food.

We acknowledge that food is a systemic issue and that food impacts sustainability, social equity, health, education and our physical environments. Investing in local, sustainable, humane and fair food systems benefits the whole of society. Further, by acting on these values within our institutions we can improve on the experience of current students and staff as well as encourage the recruitment of future students and staff. Connecting our community to society fosters university-community relations and supports the livelihoods of family farmers and food chain workers.

The Fair Food Challenge is asking Australian universities to adopt the forty Fair Food Principles to transform their campus food environments.

MISSION STATEMENT

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At Meal Exchange, we believe that post-secondary campuses are an ideal leverage point for building the food systems needed for our future, and that student leaders have the power to drive this change. Since 1993, Meal Exchange has been supporting students across Canada to develop innovative solutions to enhance food security and sustainability on their campuses and in their communities.

Over the last 20 years, we’ve seen students spark breakthrough changes by taking leadership to bring together the administrators, foodservice providers, faculty, and other stakeholders who need to be involved in figuring out how to solve these challenges. The reason for this success? Changing the food in campus dining halls requires coordination along the entire supply chain. Students, as clients of both the institution and the foodservice provider, hold an important role at the end of this chain. Not only is student demand essential to increase sales of new products, students are best placed to engage their peers and build this demand. They also have the time to facilitate the conversations and projects which don’t yet fit into the job descriptions and busy schedules of other supply chain actors.

We believe students can do more than ask for better food: students can bring together their community to find and seize opportunities that actually shift campus procurement, policy, and culture. Recent accomplishments in Meal Exchange’s network include facilitating the creation of national foodservice policy for purchasing from campus gardens and farms, and promoting procurement of local, sustainable food in five foodservice contracts with combined budgets of more than $50M over five years.

As the foodservice, supply chain, and post-secondary sectors all become increasingly global, we see great opportunity to coordinate and amplify the student movement for good food across countries and continents. Meal Exchange is working closely with the Real Food Challenge in the United States, and we look forward to connecting with the Fair Food Challenge in Australia!

Dana Lahey, Strategy and Development ManagerMeal Exchange, Canada

Fair Food Challenge is taking inspiration from projects around the world. In America, The Real Food Challenge has worked with over forty tertiary institutions to sign The Real Food Campus Commitment, shifting millions of dollars of institutional spending towards real, fair food. In Canada,Meal Exchange is a national movement present in one-third of Canadian universities engaging and empowering students to create a just and sustainable food system. The shift towards fair food institutions is global and it is time Australia joined in. We are working with our student colleagues in Canada and America to take the lessons gained in their campaigns to our own universities and are excited to be a part of an international network of impassioned and empowered students working for change.

Head to their websites to learn more about these great campaigns http://www.realfoodchallenge.org and http://mealexchange.com

As global food markets continue to consolidate and climate change continues to threaten our farms and fisheries, it’s important now more than ever that our generation make clear our vision for the food system: one that fundamentally upholds ecological sustainability, fairness, and diverse thriving local economies. It’s imperative that colleges and universities be a part of the solution, not the problem. Our future depends on it.

David SchwartzCampaign DirectorReal Food Challenge, USA

A GLOBAL MOVEMENT

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FAIR FOODCHALLENGE

FAIR FOOD GOALSOVERVIEW

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VVvvvv

SUST

AINA

BILI

TY Implement a comprehensive food waste strategyBan plastic and non-recyclable packaging, preference reusable servingwareSource sustainable food Promote energy and water efficiency in food servicePromote vegetarian and vegan optionsDivest from fossil fuels

ACCE

SS &

EQUI

TY

Implement a fair food bank to support student food securityEnsure provision of culturally appropriate food optionsEnsure availability of affordable food on campusProvide clear labelling and signage for food options

HEAL

TH

Provide affordable, healthy and fair grocery options on campusProvide affordable, healthy and fair food service optionsSupply vending machines with healthier optionsProvide easily accessible drinking water

EDUC

ATIO

N

Teach food system subjectsFund food system researchPromote interdisciplinary and inter-university collaboration for food system improvement

INNO

VATI

ON &

OPPO

RTUN

ITY Have a university food co-op

Have a campus community garden and/ or campus farmHave a campus community kitchenHave a campus farmers marketFoster fair food skills and extracurricular learning opportunitiesFoster student projects and entrepreneurship for fair food innovation

PROC

UREM

ENT

& R

ETAI

L

Incorporate Fair Food Principles into procurement and tender contractsPreference local and seasonal food on campusPreference fair trade food on campusProcure food from suppliers who ensure fair work conditions for food chain workersEnsure that campus vendors and retailers provide fair work conditions for their staffRequire sourcing of higher welfare animal productsRequire sourcing of sustainable seafoodDevelop fair food catering guides for staff, the student union and clubs and societiesWork with colleges to implement fair food plans

RESO

URCI

NG &

ACCO

UNTA

BILI

TY

Set clear and measurable fair food targetsProvide adequate resourcing and infrastructure to meet fair food goalsImplement sufficient monitoring to track fair food goalsMap campus food environmentEmploy a campus food system coordinatorImplement a campus food system working groupProvide adequate staff and student training to meet fair food goalsCommunicate fair food goals, commitments and actions widely

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Source sustainable food • Ban single use packaging • Implement a comprehensive food waste strategy Implement sustainability requirements in food-related tenders • Promote energy and water efficiency in food service • Promote vegetarian and vegan options in event catering • Divest from fossil fuels

To practice sustainability we must meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future of generations to meet their own needs. We must acknowledge the full cost of the food we consume within our institutions, taking into account the impact of agricultural and seafood production, food distribution, manufacturing and retailing and the impact of packaging and food waste. Agriculture contributes to nearly a third of greenhouse gas emissions, driving deforestation, water pollution, soil degradation and biodiversity loss. The consumption of unsustainable seafood from poorly managed fisheries is causing a global decline in fish stocks and the health of marine ecosystems. The transport, manufacture, distribution and retailing of food causes further environmental stress.

Food can be a driver of environmental harm and the global food system is highly vulnerable to environmental change. Lessening these impacts can be advantageous from social, economic and environmental perspectives. Currently one-third of all food produced on earth is wasted. When food is wasted we lose all of the embedded energy, water and labor that went into its production and as it decomposes in landfill, methane gas is released, creating a greenhouse gas many times more potent than carbon dioxide.

There are many opportunities to improve the sustainability of food consumed within universities. Sustainability conditions can be included in tenancy agreements. Comprehensive food waste strategies can be incorporated across whole institutions and prevention initiatives can lessen volumes and change community behaviour. Sustainability can be encouraged by procurement requirements that encourage vendors to purchase food from producers that engage in good land management practices, protect soil health and biodiversity and use water responsibly. Vendors must be encouraged to purchase sustainable seafood to protect the future of our oceans and waterways.

“OUR PRIMARY AIM AS FACILITIES MANAGERS IS TO CREATE A SUSTAINABLE CAMPUS ENVIRONMENT WHERE STUDENTS CAN LEARN, THRIVE AND CONTRIBUTE TO MEANINGFUL REAL-WORLD ACTIVITY. A GREAT EXAMPLE IS THE FOOD WASTE DIGESTER IN UNION HOUSE WHICH NOT ONLY DIVERTS 30 TONNES OF CAFÉ ORGANIC WASTE FROM LANDFILL BY PROCESSING IT INTO SOIL CONDITIONER, BUT IS ALSO THE PROVIDER OF DATA TO BE ANALYSED, A SITE FOR TOURS BY INTERESTED STUDENTS AND STAFF AND THE SUBJECT OF PHD RESEARCH.”

JUDITH ALCORNUNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE SUSTAINABILITY TEAM

SUSTAINABILITY

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Food scraps are collected from vendors in Union House; Facilities staff put food scraps through the Close Loop digester; the output is collected and distributed to local farms to use as soil conditioner. Opposite page: Vendors are encouraged to provide plates for students dining in the Student Union.

FOOD WASTE AND PLATE WASHING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

Since 2013 The University of Melbourne has been operating a Closed Loop Organics digester in its Union House building. The machinery was installed after facilities staff visited similar projects around Melbourne. Year on year the amount of organic waste diverted from landfill has been increasing. Facilities and Infrastructure manager Paul Durrant implemented a three month trial to test how businesses could process their waste through the digester. After the trial was successful the program expanded to nearly all businesses in Union House.

Durrant attributes the success of the program to having a captive audience of retailers in a single building, allowing for easy communication and education of participants and ability to closely monitor input.

The digester has an output of fine soil conditioner which gets distributed to local farms. The digester has been studied by Dr Tony Weatherley, soil scientist and Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Melbourne. Weatherly and his team analysed the output to assess its suitable uses in horticulture and agriculture. More information about the system the University of Melbourne is using is available at closedloop.com.au

The University of Melbourne also has composting in its community garden, a composting system in the Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences and bokashi bin systems for departmental staff rooms. However there are further opportunities to engage in education campaigns with students to stress the importance of food waste reduction, opportunities to encourage businesses to offer more portion sizes to prevent food waste, and potential to introduce a co-ordinated food donation strategy for university events.

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PACKAGING

Food packaging at universities is largely excessive, made from non-biodegradable plastics and disposed of inappropriately. Huge proportions of landfill waste relates to food packaging. Packaging is seen as pervasive and essential, yet little thought is often provided for how it can be avoided either through changing behaviours and eliminating single use options

The Student Union’s Environment Department has implemented a plate collection system to encourage businesses and customers to use and wash plates rather than use single-use packaging. While this been uptaken by some businesses and customers there is further opportunity to discourage excessive plastic in food service.

EACH AUSTRALIAN THROWS OUT 200KG OF PACKAGING WASTE PER YEAR. THAT’S 1.9 MILLION TONNES FOR THE WHOLE COUNTRY, WHICH IS EQUIVALENT TO THE GREENHOUSE GAS EMITTED BY 860 000 CARS.

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All people have a right to sufficient, healthy and culturally appropriate food to support a physically and mentally fulfilling dignified life. In our cities the cost of living is increasing while the real value of welfare payments has decreased. In Australia one in ten people have a need to access food relief, an under-recognised problem in our society. Students are struggling to balance high rental prices, bills, study expenses and transport with food provision. Recent reports from charities indicate that students, particularly international students, are lining up for free meals at drop-in centres, unable to afford food. Fair Food Challenge’s survey showed that half of students are living on an income of less than $250 per week and have little left over for food purchasing. Many students commented on the difficulty of preparing healthy and enjoyable food on a student budget, one respondent commented,

“The biggest challenge is the time, effort and expense that goes into cooking healthy meals every week. For one, grocery shopping costs adds up pretty quickly because healthy ingredients are usually pretty costly. Meals take a long time to prepare and cook, and sometimes as a student you find yourself getting takeaway or eating out at restaurants to minimise prep and cooking time. Of course, this leads to higher food expenses!”

Another said

‘‘Healthy food tends to cost more. I struggle with money and time.”

Universities can work with on-campus businesses to make sure that healthy options are affordable.

Implement a fair food bank to support student food security • Ensure provision of culturally appropriate food options • Ensure availability of affordable food on campus • Provide clear labelling and signage for food options

“WE SHOULDN’T IGNORE THE FACT THAT FOOD INSECURITY IS A SIGNIFICANT ISSUE FOR TERTIARY STUDENTS. FOR STUDENTS RENTING OR RELYING ON GOVERNMENT PAYMENTS, THE STARK REALITY IS THAT MANY DON’T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY LEFT IN THEIR BUDGET TO EAT OR TO EAT WELL.”

LUKE CRAVENRESEARCH ASSOCIATE, SYDNEY ENVIRONMENT INSTITUTE AND NSW CO-CONVENER FOR THE RIGHT TO FOOD COALITION

ACCESS & EQUITY

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University community kitchens can help increase equity and access to fresh food.

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FOOD RELIEF

Many universities offer welfare for students struggling with food insecurity, efforts that should be encouraged and commended. The University of Melbourne Union and Welfare department run a food bank and host a weekly free breakfast for students to support access to food. However, often food banks are stocked with the belief that any food is better than none rather than developing strategies to provide healthy food for those in need. Frequently food banks stock only tinned and packaged foods which tend to be higher in sugar, salt and fat. Food banks can become outlets for suppliers with excess stock and become flooded with excessive discretionary foods.

Efforts should be made the source fresh foods and healthy staples to distribute to those in need. Connecting welfare services with community gardens and community kitchens may assist students in growing their capacity to manage food as well as acting as food relief. Cooking and food sharing and food swap activities offer a fun and inclusive way to support food access. The Stop in Canada have pioneered a food access and equity model which supports food security with healthy, fresh food and programs increase capacity and skills. They combine welfare programs with community exchanges, community kitchens and gardens.

Student food banks frequently stock tinned foods; The University of Melbourne Welfare service accepted donations of sugar-sweetened beverages to give away to students; The Stop’s food bank provides fresh produce for its visitors (photo: Food Secure Canada) Opposite page: Food outlets can assist students by notifying them of food options like this halal vendor in the University of Melbourne’s Union House

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INCLUSIVE FOOD ENVIRONMENTS

Australian universities welcome international students from around the world and host diverse communities. There is vast opportunity to increase the availability of diverse and culturally appropriate food options and communicate the availability of these options to make them more easily accessible by students. Efforts should be made to map and communicate diverse and culturally-appropriate food options. Cultural events should be celebrated and supported by the university community to foster student connection and social inclusion.

University events should make efforts to ensure that dietary options are considered and catered for. Vendors and catering should consider including halal, kosher, vegetarian and vegan foods as well ‘free-from’ foods including gluten and lactose free to cater for those with allergies. These options should be labelled, or if this is not possible, information about food ingredients readily available on request.

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Environments where we spend our time influence the food we consume. Currently, universities in Australia fail to adequately supply meals that meet the Australian Dietary Guidelines. Currently, only 5% of Australians consume their recommended intake of fruits and vegetables and 35% of energy intake comes from the discretionary food group. Poor diets are leading to rising rates of lifestyle diseases including diabetes, strokes, cardiovascular diseases, obesity and cancers.

Australian universities have a responsibility to their communities to provide healthy food environments. Having discretionary foods as the most easily available options on the same campuses where we learn about, research and treat non-communicable diseases is unacceptable. Our institutions have an opportunity to model interventions that are being discussed at an international policy level, limiting intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and incentivising healthy foods.

Campus food, both through vendors and vending machines supply predominantly discretionary food items, from pizzas and pastries, to sugar sweetened beverages and confectionary. For students on limited budgets, these cheaper, more filling, but less nutritionally rich food items are the easier but less healthy choice. Campus spaces could be transformed by assuring vendors supply healthy food and clearly communicate the nutritional value of foods on offer.

“IF UNIVERSITIES WANT TO THINK AND TEACH BRILLIANTLY THEY NEED TO EAT BRILLIANTLY – BY MAKING SURE THE HEALTHY FOOD AND HEALTHY DRINK CHOICES ARE THE EASY CHOICES.”

ROB MOODIE PROFESSOR OF PUBLIC HEALTH AT THE MELBOURNE SCHOOL OF POPULATION AND GLOBAL HEALTH. MEMBER OF THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION’S EXPERT PANEL ON HEALTH PROMOTION

Provide affordable, healthy and fair grocery options on campus • Provide affordable, healthy and fair food service options • Supply vending machines with healthier options • Provide easily accessible drinking water

HEALTH

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The University of Melbourne’s main grocery store on the Parkville campus sells mainly discretionary foods

In our survey, 87.5% of students rated health concerns around their food choices as either very important or important and frequently discussed the difficulty in sourcing healthy and affordable food as a key concern:

“Finding a balance between affordable food, healthy food, and enjoyable food.”

“Healthy food tends to cost more, and be more labour intensive. I struggle with money and time.” “When fruit and veg get expensive it can be hard to maintain a good intake.” “Enormous portion sizes in the cafes and shops at uni .”

“Eating healthy and affordably is basically impossible.” “Finding cheap healthy fresh food is pricey for students.”

“Food that is healthy often takes lots of time to make.”

“Food that is cheap is often unhealthy”.

Similar concerns were reflected in a survey conducted of Monash students, when asked ‘‘How satisfied are you with the range of healthy food options available at campus food outlets?’, 62% of students were dissatisfied. Fair Food Challenge encourages universities to adopt healthy guidelines and take an active role in creating healthy food environments for their communities.

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HEALTHY CAMPUSES

Universities have the opportunity to benefit students by assisting food vendors to redesign menus to provide a wide variety of affordable and nutritious meals and snack options, balancing fruits and vegetables, whole grains and lean protein, and minimising the addition of free sugar, salt and trans fats. Items can be appropriately labelled with nutrition information and clearly displayed ingredient lists.

Institutions are beginning to take notice of how they can play an active role in creating healthy campuses. Claire Palermo, senior lecturer in Monash’s Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, has researched how to make healthy food more accessible, modelling an affordable healthy food basket for Australian consumers. Now she is working with colleagues to focus on Monash’s food options. Palermo notes that Monash University is ‘committed to monitoring our university’s food and drink environment to assess how easy healthy choices are to make and the potential contribution this environmenthas to the healthy and wellbeing of staff and students.’

Other institutions have undertaken projects to reform their food environments. In 2014, Alfred Hospital changed the way in which drink items were labelled in an onsite cafe. Based on the traffic light system, items were labeled as red, amber or green. Red drink items were placed out of sight. Six months after implementation consumers were choosing healthier products in greater numbers. Alfred Hospital CEO, Andrew Way, said ‘Ultimately I’d like to see this approach to healthier food and drinks being seen as ‘normal’, and not ‘innovative’ or ‘different’. And hopefully the public begins to expect it too, so that they will see food outlets and vending machines and think that it’s ‘normal’ food, not so much that it’s ‘healthy’ or different.’

Current University Food Environments make eating discretionary foods easier than making healthy choices. Opposite page top –bottom: vending machines on The University of Melbourne’s Parkville campus provide only large portion sizes of sugar sweetened beverages; the City of Melbourne have partnered with Snack Savvy to offer healthy vending machines (photo from http://healthyvending.com.au)

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VENDING MACHINES

Vending machines have a place on campuses as after hours sources of sustenance when vendors are closed. However, vending machines continually fail to provide options that meet the recommendations of the Australian Dietary Guidelines. Beverage machines are predominantly stocked with full-sugar sweetened beverages, flavoured milks, vitamin waters, fruit drinks, energy and sport drinks. Others are stocked with confectionary and potato crisps. Many campus vending machines fail to offer choice in portion size stocking only large snacks sizes and the largest sized bottles of sugar sweetened beverages.

The Healthy Together Victoria Healthy Eating Advisory Service (HEAS) offers guidelines for healthy vending machines, relying on a traffic light system of categorising foods. The guidelines suggest that at at least 50 per cent of foods and drinks are from the green (best choices ) category, no more than 20 per cent are from the red (limit) category and that these are displayed in the least prominent place. Amber (choose carefully) foods may be supplied, but displayed less prominently than green foods. To meet these goals institutions may have to negotiate new contracts with suppliers willing to provide healthier options. HEAS offers similar guidelines for food vendors. Institutions can complete a healthy vending assessment at http://heas.health.vic.gov.au. The City of Melbourne have teamed up with the company Snack Savvy to deliver the Green Light Eat Right program offering a model for a healthy vending machine in action.

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A fair food university must teach and research food system issues. The food system presents complex challenges and the opportunities for study are diverse. Food can be integrated into curricula across the institution from health to the law, to business and economics, across the sciences and into the arts and humanities. The solutions we need for a sustainable and fair future will be born of rigorous research and interdisciplinary collaboration. Throughout the world there is a growing interest in food and the food system as an area of academic enquiry. Programs vary from Masters programs such as the Master of Science in Food Systems and Society from Marylhurst College in Oregon and the Master of Arts in Food Studies from NYU. There are online programs such as the Certificate Program in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems from Tufts to initiatives such as the FEED Collaborative, which encourages design thinking for food systems from Stanford University and ETH Zurich’s annual World Food System Summer School. Dedicated institutes such as the Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems at the University of California San Diego connect together hands on extra-curricular programs with teaching and research for sustainable food and agricultural systems.

Already our universities are teaching agricultural science, horticulture, public health and nutrition but there are further opportunities to link these areas together and to initiate targeted food systems courses to equip students with the knowledge they will need to face future food challenges. Furthermore universities must ensure that food system research is adequately funded and that interdisciplinary research collaborations are encouraged.

Teach food system subjects • Fund food system research • Promote interdisciplinary and inter-university collaboration for food system improvement

“INTERDISCIPLINARY FOOD RESEARCH AND TEACHING WILL ENABLE US TO BETTER UNDERSTAND AND ADDRESS THE INTERCONNECTED FOOD SYSTEM CHALLENGES WE NOW FACE IN AUSTRALIA AND GLOBALLY.”

GYORGY SCRINISLECTURER IN FOOD POLITICS AND POLICY, FACULTY OF VETERINARY AND AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

EDUCATION

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Students at the Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems University of California San Diego. Photo: CASF

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“The University of Melbourne has established teaching and research programs in the science of agricultural and food production. Alongside the science-focused teaching programs, I teach graduate subjects in food and nutrition politics and policy that draw in many students from courses across the University. This demonstrates a strong and growing student demand for multi-disciplinary subjects that address many interconnected food issues, including food security and public health, ecological sustainability and animal welfare, and the politics and governance of food systems. Similarly, in terms of research at the University, we are also beginning to see more analysis of food systems from a range of disciplinary perspectives, particularly from policy, regulatory, environmental, public health and cultural perspectives. This interdisciplinary food research and teaching will enable us to better understand and address the interconnected food system challenges we now face in Australia and globally.”

Dr Chris Williams lectures in urban horticulture at the University of Melbourne’s Burnley Campus. Wile courses are mostly taken by students enrolled in the associate degree in urban agriculture and the masters of urban horticulture, students come from across the university to take electives in food production and green infrastructure.

“At the University’s Burnley campus we have a 125 year old tradition of making students grow food in field plots through the course of a semester or full year of urban horticulture. This hands-on experience of preparing and managing individual plots is literally grounding, so that design theory or science and technology lectures are wedded to the real world of climate, soils, plants and harvest. For students passionate about the future of food this is an overwhelmingly positive experience. It speaks to the need for universities to seriously re-commit to the long term value of teaching and training in applied sciences.”

Kelly Donati has been the driving force behind the launch of Australia’s first food studies degree which began in 2016 at the William Angliss Institute. The Bachelor of Food Studies allows students to get a hands-on, interdisciplinary education to learn about sustainable, ethical and equitable food.

TEACHING FOOD SYSTEMS

The University of Melbourne runs many food related subjects. From food science to public health, food politics to urban horticulture, students have the opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge in particular subject areas. There is further opportunity to connect these subjects together into a dedicated major or course allowing students to become food system experts. Here three lecturers give us their perspective on teaching food system courses:

Dr Gyorgy Scrinis has developed three post-graduate food courses:, Nutrition Politics and Policy, Sustainable Food: Policy and Practice and the Politics of Food, one of the most popular post-graduate subjects in his faculty. Year on year enrolments in food subjects have been increasing.

Left: Dr. Gyorgy Scrinis.Opposite page: students grow food on the University of Melbourne’s Burnley Campus.

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“It is critical as educators and academics that we support and empower students to understand the complex challenges facing US as we collectively seek to create a more healthy, sustainable, fair and delicious world. Too often, we find ourselves teaching students about critical food system issues while our institutional procurement arrangements mean that we are surrounded by unhealthy, unsustainable, unethical and uninspiring food. Mobilising for change needs to start from within our educational institutions. Universities themselves can only benefit engaging in the process of change. It is an opportunity to draw on the energy and ideas but also to use this process of engagement and transformation as an opportunity for teaching and research. I applaud the Fair Food Challenge for not only leading this change, but for also empowering students to be positive advocates, agitators and leaders in creating material changes within the environments where they study.The Bachelor of Food Studies and Master of Food Systems and Gastronomy at William Angliss Institute are designed to bring together material practice and theoretical reflection to food system transformation in ways that are critical, applied, creative and hopefully pleasurable. We hope that the pleasure of our graduates’ theoretical craftiness is what sustains them throughout their careers.”

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Teaching and learning in universities does not begin and end in the classroom, on our campuses hundred of good food projects are thriving. From farmers markets to community gardens, hands-on classes in co-ops to social enterprises. Projects like Anabel’s Grocery from Cornell university embrace the interconnectedness of food system issues by offering affordable groceries, putting on cooking classes and skills workshops and loaning out kitchen equipment to students. Community kitchens offer spaces where people can come together to cook, eat and share food. Our university campuses offer the perfect environment for shared kitchens. Many students, particularly international students, live in shared housing and apartments where preparing food and cooking can be difficult. Communal kitchens offer opportunities to cook together, exchange recipes and ideas and build social inclusion. They can also be rented by clubs and societies and student groups to host workshops and activities. We know that food waste is a problem, but investing in infrastructure is only one part of the solution. University students are amongst the worst wasters of food, if we can teach students how to plan, shop, cook and store food we will go a long way to preventing food being wasted in the first place.

“UNIVERSITIES HAVE A PERFECT OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW LEADERSHIP AND INSPIRATION FOR YOUNG PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND FAIR FOOD. THE CHOICES A UNIVERSITY MAKES IN THE AVAILABILITY OF FRESH, HEALTHY, LOCALLY PRODUCED FOOD SETS A POWERFUL EXAMPLE AT A FORMATIVE TIME. TO HAVE AN ACCREDITED FARMERS MARKET ON CAMPUS IS A CREDIT TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE AND I ENCOURAGE MORE UNIVERSITIES TO CONSIDER THE IDEA. “

MIRANDA SHARPDIRECTOR, MELBOURNE FARMERS MARKETS

Have a university food co-op • Have a campus community garden and/ or a campus farm • Have a campus community kitchen • Have campus farmers’ markets • Foster fair food skills and extracurricular learning opportunities • Foster student projects and social entrepreneurship for fair food innovation

INNOVATION & OPPORTUNITY

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Our campus food systems are supported by co-ops, community gardens, campus farms, beehives, farmers markets, food focused clubs and societies and collectives. Students are starting campaigns, projects and entrepreneurial ventures. For many students it is in these extracurricular activities that they find their introduction to thinking about food. We know that students are eager to learn more. Responding to our survey, 66% of students said they would like to attend food classes and workshops. It is important that our institutions invest in inclusive spaces that foster students’ curiosity and skills. The Monash University community garden and farm supply fresh produce to the campus’ Wholefoods Cafe, and in return scraps from the cafe are returned to the garden’s composting system. While this is opening access to fresh food, students run these projects and all along the supply chain participants are getting their hands dirty and gaining experience and skills. There are opportunities to connect projects to research aims, as is the case with the University of Melbourne’s Bees@unimelb project.

Food projects also provide the opportunity to connect campuses to the wider community, farmers markets allow the university community to connect with growers, learn about local and seasonal food and support thriving local economies. Despite the fact there are so many good food projects happening on our campuses they are not always easy to find. Fair Food Challenge is working to tell the stories of these food projects and create a community of shared learning around campus food systems.

Students participate in a fermenting workshop in the University of Melbourne’s Food Co-op; Herbs from the Melbourne University Community Garden being used in a student Workshop.

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MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY GARDEN

Melbourne University Community Garden is run by two garden facilitators who share the responsibility of coordinating volunteers, maintaining supplies and organising working-bees. Pippa French, one of the facilitators, says it has helped that the University has put aside a small amount of money to support the garden, securing the help of the co-ordinators, infrastructure and the occasional help of the facilities and maintenance staff.

Although the garden is now a successful part of the Melbourne University community it took around ten years of lobbying and organising to get it off the ground, and another couple of years to get it to the flourishing stage it is at now. Now there are six student volunteer garden coordinators who help keep the garden going. Students can join in on workshops on planting, composting, and small space gardening as well as activities like terrarium making, fermenting foods and brewing herbal teas. The garden at Parkville has a cousin at the university’s Burnley Campus, run by Horticultured, a group of students studying urban horticulture.

The Melbourne University Community Garden, Pippa French, garden facilitator,Spearmint in the Community Garden

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Including the Fair Food Goals into procurement and retail contracts may be the biggest hurdle in working towards a fair food university but it has the potential to offer the biggest transformations. Universities hold significant purchasing power. Advocating for sustainable purchasing policies can support local producers and act in a ‘standard setting’ capacity to demonstrate best practice. Where possible, universities should make decisions that support local, sustainable food economies and fair trade. Commitments in retail and procurement contracts can make a tangible difference to supporting a healthier, more resilient and socially just food system.

It is important to develop clear, operational guidelines for food retailers and lease-holders that operate on university campuses. Relevant actors in the university food supply chain include retailers, which may at times include the university itself as well as vendors leasing sites on university grounds. Staff, students, colleges, clubs and societies and community members frequently contract caterers for events held within the university. A university food plan can be developed to assist all these stakeholders in making purchasing decisions to support fair food and further the university’s mission to be sustainable, equitable and healthy. To be successful the terms of an institutional fair food policy must be practical, with clear criteria and feasible pathways for compliance. This may mean choosing small targets first and working with suppliers and the community to work towards year on year improvements.

Universities can include fair food requirements in contracts with lease-holders to ensure commitments are met across the campus. If leaseholders are in the middle of contracts the university can aim to communicate with the contractor to identify opportunities to work towards Fair Food Principles and work to include the commitments when leases are renewed. Expiring leases may present the opportunity to seek out more suitable suppliers. Universities do not necessarily have to develop measurement standards from scratch and may instead find it easier to hold vendors to standards set by third-party certification schemes.

Incorporate Fair Food Principles into procurement and tender contracts • Preference local and seasonal food on campus • Require sourcing of sustainable seafood • Preference fair trade food on campus • Procure food from suppliers who ensure fair work conditions for food chain workers • Ensure that campus vendors and retailers provide fair work conditions for their staff • Require sourcing of higher welfare animal products • Develop fair food catering guides for staff, the student union and clubs and societies • Work with colleges to implement fair food plans

“THINKING ABOUT INSTITUTIONAL PROCUREMENT, THE BARRIERS ARE HIGH BUT THE OPPORTUNITIES ARE ENORMOUS. IF SOMEBODY CRACKS IT, IT WILL BE AMAZING.”

SERENITY HILLCO-FOUNDER, THE OPEN FOOD NETWORK

PROCUREMENT & RETAIL

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Food hubs offer an opportunity to aggregate local produce to supply to institutions (Photo: Modern Farmer)

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FAIR FOOD MEANS FAIR WORK

Universities have a responsibility to make sure that they are supplying food from supply chains in which farmers, farm workers, distribution workers, food service staff and retail workers are fairly paid. Australian food producers endure a cost-price squeeze from wholesalers and retailers that puts their very livelihoods at risk. Price pressures provide an incentive for suppliers to cut corners, passing on risks to farm workers and some of the most vulnerable people in our food system. Recent reports from the National Union of Workers have demonstrated the exploitation of workers in Australian farms and factories, including abuse and underpayment. Food retail workers are also treated poorly. Students, and particularly international students are often exploited in these precarious supply chains. Fair Food Challenge has also received reports of students working in on-campus businesses being underpaid to work in foodservice and hospitality. Having food retailers on university campus that perpetuate these issues, either with or without the institution’s knowledge, reflects negatively on the university itself. Students should be able to make purchasing choices confident they are not contributing to an environment of exploitation throughout the food system and should be guaranteed work without exploitation. Institutions within Australia have a social responsibility to make sure that they are not perpetuating the emotional, physical and financial suffering of workers within our food system. The choice of where university food is procured from, the choice of which retailers are allowed on campuses and what standards they must meet are all factors which influence whether universities are contributing to fair food environments. Campus retailers must ensure minimum wage requirements for all their staff, and retailers can be further encouraged to employ students to contribute to the increased financial security of students.

Retail businesses operate under tight margins and retailers need support from the university to transform their operations. Universities can assist businesses in increasing supply chain transparency, help them to develop and adhere to procurement standards and commit to ethical wholesalers and sustainable supply chains.

Universities can support local food producers and ethical suppliers. (Photo: Jonai Farms)

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NEW MODELS FOR PROCUREMENT

Universities host large communities and are excellent candidates as sites for food hubs. Food hubs aggregate local, fresh produce which is bought from surrounding producers to be distributed to the community. This creates a secure distribution point for farmers, fishers and producers to market to restaurants, households and institutions. A university based food hub could distribute to on-campus businesses, caterers, colleges and provide produce for individual staff and students to purchase. This in turn makes it easier for these stakeholders to purchase local produce.

In America, farm-to-institution programs have delivered returns of $2.16 for every dollar invested in local food procurement. Furthermore, local procurement has the potential to support growers and producers who practice good environmental stewardship and labour practices and has the added benefit of reducing food miles. Demonstrating leadership in food procurement not only improves the university’s food environment but creates a culture in which fair food is modelled for staff and students, encouraging them to make fair food choices when off campus.

“IT IS CRITICAL THAT UNIVERSITIES PLAY A LEADING ROLE IN SUPPORTING THE GLOBAL PUBLIC GOOD, AND CONTEST THE ORTHODOXIES OF OUR TIME SUCH AS THE PRODUCTIVIST PARADIGM THAT DRIVES INDUSTRIALISED AGRICULTURE. THROUGH BOTH THEIR THEORETICAL PURSUITS AND THE PRACTICAL WAYS THAT UNIVERSITIES ENGAGE WITH AND ARE EMBEDDED IN THEIR COMMUNITIES THEY CAN PROVIDE SPACES FOR CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT IN OUR FOOD SYSTEMS, AND A COMMITMENT TO PROCURING ETHICALLY- AND ECOLOGICALLY-GROWN PRODUCE WOULD HAVE POSITIVE MATERIAL BENEFITS TO SOILS, WATERWAYS, FARM ANIMALS, FARMERS, AND BOTH UNIVERSITY COMMUNITIES AND THE RURAL ONES WHO FEED THEM..”

TAMMI JONASPRESIDENT, AUSTRALIAN FOOD SOVEREIGNTY ALLIANCE AND ETHICAL PORK FARMER

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As this report has demonstrated university food environments are complicated and decision making capacity rests with many stakeholders. Furthermore, the university food environment is nested within complex food systems beset with social, environmental and ethical problems. Change will only be made by investing in adequate resources and infrastructure, supported by university-wide collaboration. The Fair Food Goals would be best overseen by the creation of a role for a dedicated campus food system coordinator and campus food system working group. To our knowledge such positions have not been undertaken in Australian universities and as such we have created a job description and rationale for these roles. We invite you to use and adapt them to implement these actions in your own institution.

We encourage you to develop a food plan for your own institution. The first step is to map your university food environment, find out about existing food projects, and identify the decision makers in your campus food system. Once a baseline understanding has been established it is important to develop a timeline for meeting the Fair Food Principles and put in place sufficient monitoring to measure progress towards becoming a fair food institution.

Many good food projects are happening in Australian universities but until now they have not always been easy to discover. If you undertake to become a fair food university it is imperative that you communicate your efforts widely, creating a community of fair food advocates within your students and staff.

We wish you the best of luck and look forward to working with you to create a better food system by mobilising the power of our universities to create a fair, healthy and accessible food system.

Set clear and measurable fair food targets • Provide adequate resourcing and infrastructure to meet fair food goals • Implement sufficient monitoring to track fair food goals • Map campus food environment • Employ a campus food system co-ordinator • Implement a campus food system working group • Provide adequate staff and student training to meet fair food goals • Communicate fair food goals, commitments and actions widely

RESOURCING & ACCOUNTABILITY

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KEY RESPONSIBILITIES • Facilitate the development and implementation of a Campus Food

Plan• Work directly with internal stakeholders and food service

providers to implement best practices in food procurement; identify barriers and help to develop solutions.

• Monitor and evaluate campus food projects to ensure that program goals are being achieved

• Communicate progress and barriers to the steering committee; identify best practices

• Stay abreast of current thinking and strategies for campus food programs

• Develop a plan to strengthen relationships with existing stakeholders and cultivate relationships with new stakeholders

• Build and maintain networks with Australian universities; connect with existing resources in the sustainability sector and broker collaborative partnerships

• Help to develop and implement marketing and outreach programs for campus food programs

• Coordinate communication campaign to increase student and staff awareness of the campus food projects

• Prepare regular progress reports, budgets, receipts, and expenditures

JOB DESCRIPTION FOR A CAMPUS FOOD SYSTEM CO-ORDINATOR

Seeking a hands-on and strategic Campus Food Systems Coordinator to lead the development and implementation of a university food plan. The Coordinator would sit on the University’s Food System working group and function as liaison between internal and external stakeholders and the committee. The Coordinator will maintain oversight of the university’s food-related projects and help to coordinate and facilitate their development. The Coordinator will play a key role in identifying project best practices and building on existing networks and connections.

REQUIREMENTS

• Good understanding of food systems, with a key specialisation in food and sustainability, public health and nutrition, procurement and logistics or social issues.

• Strong analytical, organizational, prioritization and administration skills

• Ability to build and cultivate relationships• Highly self-motivated with the ability to work collaboratively with

others• Strong motivation and ability to grow and manage a diverse

number of projects• Comfortable and skilled in working with numbers, budgets and

revenue management• Exceptional written communication and presentation skills

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CAMPUS FOOD SYSTEM WORKING GROUP

The Campus Food System Working Group should represent the diversity of stakeholders in university food environments and include members of the undergraduate and graduate student body, academics and researchers from diverse disciplines including sustainability, social equity and public health, chancellery staff and members of the sustainability executive, college administrators, vendors, food service workers and facilities and services staff. If the University has multiple campuses efforts should be made the have representatives from each campus.

The Food System Working Group should be chaired by the Campus Food System Coordinator and work toward developing an understanding of the institution’s total food environment and develop an institution specific fair food plan. The Working Group will agree on fair food targets.

The Food System Working Group will meet quarterly to report back on their aspect of the university’s food environment and report on progress in meeting fair food targets.

The Working Group will champion fair food and promote cross-departmental and cross-institutional communication and collaboration. The Group will support the development of educational programming, including field trips and campus events, workshops and lecture series, and academic curricula on relevant food systems topics. The working group will facilitate partnerships within the local community, including between campus vendors and caterers and local farmers.

If necessary The Working Group will conduct feasibility studies on further fair food initiatives. The Group is encouraged to make links with Groups from other institutions and share knowledge to create a national fair food culture in Australia’s tertiary sector.

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Has your university implemented a comprehensive food waste strategy? a. Are there clearly labelled organics, recycling and landfill bins widely available? b. Do you have industrial-scale organic waste processing for on campus vendors? c. Do campus food vendors offer various portion sizes? d. Do you have a food donation strategy for events?

Has your university banned plastic and non-recyclable packaging, instead preferencing reusable servingware? a. Are single use options discouraged? b. Are incentives available for university staff and students to use reusable servingware?

Has your university defined and approved sustainable suppliers and implemented sustainability requirements for food-related tenders?

Has your university provided information to tenants regarding energy and water efficiency in food service?

Does your university promote vegetarian and vegan options? a. Are vegetarian and vegan meals widely available? b. Is there a price premium on meals which include meat? c. Are vegetarian and vegan options preferenced in event catering?

Has your university divested from fossil fuels?

Has your university implement a fair food bank to support student food security? a. Is the food bank accessible? b. Does your food bank provide healthy food?

Has your university provided and communicated culturally appropriate food options?

Has your university provided affordable food on campus? a. Is affordable healthy and fair food widely available?

Has your university provided clear labels and signage for food options? a. Do the signs contain nutritional information? b. Are the signs easy to understand? c. Are allergies and intolerances catered for in for in signage or easily available information?

Has your university provided affordable, healthy and fair grocery options on campus?

Has your university provided affordable, healthy and fair food service options?

Has your university committed to healthy vending machine options? a. Are healthy options preferenced over and more accessible than unhealthy options? b. Have you used the Healthy Eating Advisory Service tool to assess available vending machine options? c. Have you limited portion sizes of sugar sweetened beverages?

Has your university provided easily accessible drinking water stations? a. Are these options widely available throughout campus? b. Can drink bottles be easily refilled from the drinking water stations?

Does your university teach food system subjects? a. Are there dedicated food-related courses? b. Are these subjects available across all faculties? c. Can students take these subjects as breadth subjects? d. Are subjects available at an undergraduate and post-graduate level?

FAIR FOOD UNIVERSITY QUESTIONNAIRE

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Does your university fund food system research?

Does your university promote interdisciplinary and inter-university collaboration for food system improvement?

Does your university have an accessible food co-operative?

Does your university have a campus community garden and/or a campus farm?

Does your university have a campus community kitchen?

Does your university have a regular campus farmers’ market? a. Is the market supporting the local food system? b. Are there affordable fresh produce options available?

Does your university foster fair food skills and extracurricular learning opportunities?

Does your university foster student projects and social entrepreneurship for fair food innovation?

Has your university incorporated Fair Food Principles into procurement and tender contracts?

Does your university preference local and seasonal food on campus?

Does your university preference fair trade food on campus?

Does your university procure food from suppliers who ensure fair work conditions for food chain workers?

Do campus vendors and retailers provide fair work conditions for their staff?

Has your university defined and committed to higher welfare animal products?

Has your university defined and committed to procuring certified sustainable seafood?

Has your university developed fair food catering guides for: a. staff? b. student union? c. clubs and societies?

Has your university worked with its colleges to implement fair food plans?

Has your university set clear and measurable fair food targets?

Has your university provided adequate resourcing and infrastructure to meet fair food goals?

Has your university implemented sufficient monitoring to track fair food goals? a. Are the goals measurable? b. Is there a clear and achievable timeframe in which goals are expected to be met?

Has your university mapped its campus food environment? a. Are fair food vendors, projects, infrastructure, activities and staff easy to locate and access?

Has your university employed a campus food system coordinator? a. Does the coordinator have a defined role with targets? b. Is the coordinator accessible for university staff and students?

Has your university implemented a campus food system working group? a. Is the working group open to all university staff and students?

Has your university provided adequate staff and student training to meet fair food goals?

Has your university communicated fair food goals, commitments and actions widely?

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[Our University] is a leader in providing fair, healthy and sustainable food.

We commit to developing a fair food plan for our university with clear and measurable targets that we communicate widely to our community. Our commitment strives towards a sustainable, accessible, equitable, healthy food system supported by research, teaching and whole of community participation.

We recognise our responsibility to minimise negative environmental, animal welfare, and social aspects associated with food products and services and to support the welfare of farmers and the rights of food chain workers. We further ensure that local and smaller suppliers are not discriminated against in our procurement processes.

We commit to providing adequate resources and infrastructure to improve our campus food system. We will undertake research to establish a baseline of our current university food environment and to commit to year on year improvements until we meet The Fair Food Challenge’s forty fair food university principles.

Our institution will work with our on campus businesses, colleges, caterers, staff, students and community to source and sell fair food and to create fair food environments. It will provide adequate information and support to meet these aims.

We commit to sharing the actions we undertake and creating a community of shared learning to improve campus food environments across Australian universities.

Within three months we agree to have taken the Fair Food University Questionnaire and to have begun mapping our campus food environment.

Within six months we agree to have employed a campus food systems coordinator and implemented a campus food systems working group with the primary task of developing an institution-specific fair food plan.

Within 12 months we agree to adopt a comprehensive fair food plan and begin executing a multi-year action plan with annual benchmarks.

In recognition that to change the food system we must engage in collaborative action we will encourage our colleagues at peer institutions to join this effort and to adopt the Fair Food Challenge.

THE FAIR FOOD PLEDGE

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ANABEL’S GROCERY – CORNELL UNIVERSITY (USA)anabelsgrocery.org

Anabel’s Grocery seeks to break down social stigmas attached to food aid. To do so, they have implemented a tiered, subsidized payment program to ensure access to healthy, affordable basic food needs for the entire student body. Additionally, the store offers cooking classes, meal planning, and pot and pan rentals, proactively promoting healthier lifestyles.

CAMPUS KITCHEN PROJECT (USA)campuskitchens.org

Across America universities are teaming up with dining services and student leaders to build a more sustainable approach to food on campus. The Campus Kitchens Project keeps food from going to waste, and turns it into nutritious meals for those who are struggling with food insecurity. In the process they are developing student leaders and empowering them to create programs that open pathways between college and community. It’s food recovery and so much more. It’s student-powered hunger relief.

RYERSON UNIVERSITY ROOFTOP FARM (CANADA) ryersonurbanfarm.wordpress.com

A quarter acre rooftop farm on the Andrew and Valerie Pringle Environmental Green Roof, located in the heart of downtown Toronto. Originally built in 2004, this green roof was converted into an edible garden in 2013 by Ryerson’s student-initiated garden group, Ryerson Urban Farm (formerly Rye’s Homegrown). Since then, more than 1,000 people have visited the farm through tours, workshops and events. In 2015, the farm produced nearly 8,000 pounds of produce, distributed between Ryerson’s campus kitchens, the Gould Street Farmers’ Market and to volunteers through a weekly food basket.

THE COMMUNITY GROCER (AUS)thecommunitygrocer.com.au

The Community Grocer offers affordable pop-up markets to provide low-income shoppers with dignified access to a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Ryerson University Rooftop Farm, Toronto photo from Ryerson University

PROJECTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

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DAILY TABLE (USA)dailytable.org

Daily Table provides delicious, wholesome and affordable food to all. They are on a mission to help communities make great choices around food by making it easy for them to choose tasty, healthy, convenient and truly affordable meals and groceries while respecting their customers and engendering dignity.

FARM TO COLLEGE 0F UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA CRUZ (USA)casfs.ucsc.edu/farm-to-college/

The College Food Systems initiative at UC Santa Cruz links the Center’s Farm on the UCSC campus with other local organic farms and with UCSC campus organizations to bring organic produce to the campus dining halls and restaurants, while bringing students to CASFS for sustainable food systems education and engagement.

FOOD JUSTICE TRUCK (AUS)asrc.org.au/foodjustice/

The Food Justice Truck is the world’s first retail model that enables the general public to invest in quality fresh food for their family, while reinvesting profits into affordable nutritious food for people seeking asylum. The mobile fresh food market offers locally sourced produce including fresh fruit, vegetables, grains, legumes, tea and bread at a 75% discount to people seeking asylum.

NATIONAL STUDENT FOOD (CANADA)foodsecurecanada.org/resources-news/resources-research/national-student-food-charter

The National Student Food Charter (NSFC) is a way for students to work together to identify the food issues that are important to them as members of their communities. The Charter represents the student food movement’s vision for food and food systems on campus. The Charter’s creation has gathered over 400 student voices, connected ideas to actions, and mobilized a national student food movement.

FRESH TRUCK (USA)freshtruck.org

Fresh Truck transformed a school bus into a mobile fresh food market. The Truck visits low-income neighbourhoods to sell food, host block parties, pop-up markets and cooking demos.

NATIONAL STUDENT FOOD SUMMIT (CANADA)studentfoodsummit.ca

Meal Exchange runs an annual student food summit to bring together students from 30 tertiary institutions to plan to discuss the future of food in Canada.

THE GROWCER (USA)thegrowcer.ca/growcer/ The Growcer is a social enterprise that will sell fresh produce and fish to the Iqaluit community using hydroponic and aquaponic technology. Due to the harsh northern climates, it is very difficult to grow fruits and vegetables in Iqaluit, meaning the community relies heavily on shipments from the South for their produce. The Growcer aims to combat this issue, by offering fresh and more affordable produce that is grown in Iqaluit. Providing fresh produce is not The Growcer’s only goal. The social enterprise has three main aims: to improve food security, health and wellness education and employment.

HISBE (HOW IT SHOULD BE: HAPPINESS BEFORE PROFITS) (UK)hisbe.co.uk

hiSbe runs on a social enterprise model that puts happiness before profits. Instead of maximising short-term profit, like big supermarkets, hiSbe pays and charges fair prices. Employees get above the living wage, suppliers get a good deal and prices are set so customers pay a fair price for well-sourced goods. hiSbe prioritises local products and works with suppliers and wholesalers who care about health, sustainability and trading fairly.

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ORIGINAL UNVERPACKT (GERMANY)original-unverpackt.de/

The first supermarket chain concept that dispenses with disposable packaging. Unpackaged shopping means considerably less waste and less food that is thrown away, allowing everyone to buy only the amount they need.

OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY AND CULTURAL FOODS PROGRAM (USA)sli.oregonstate.edu/seac/about-us/our-programs/community-cultural-food-program

Enhances campus programming by partnering with students to utilise food for cultural sharing, learning and community building. The program provides advising, resources and support in the planning, development and serving of food as the focus or a component of programming. Annually thousands of meals are served, hundreds of students and community members volunteer and hundreds of individuals gain new insight on food use and production.

THE PEOPLE’S SUPERMARKET: LONDON (UK)thepeoplessupermarket.org/

A commercially sustainable social enterprise that achieves its growth and targets whilst operating within values based on community development and cohesion. Their intent is to offer an alternative food buying network, by connecting an urban community with the local farming community. The People’s Supermarket challenges the status quo by offering high quality, healthy food at reasonable prices.

WEFOOD (DENMARK)donate.danchurchaid.org/wefood

Danish supermarket selling surplus food at a 30-50% discount to the community. Wefood focuses on food waste and environmental sustainability. Via crowdfunding and volunteer work, the organisation opened Denmark’s very first non-profit surplus food supermarket. Wefood sells goods that regular supermarkets can no longer sell due to overdue ‘best before’ dates, incorrect labels or damaged packaging.

ST. LOUIS HEALTHY CORNER STORE PROJECT (USA)stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/mayor/initiatives/sustainability/toolkit/make-a-healthy-corner-store.cfm

The St. Louis Healthy Corner Store Project expands access to affordable, healthy food in existing small food retailers, while also promoting nutrition education and healthy eating among community members. The project offers a comprehensive approach to closing the food gap in any community by engaging both small food retailers (supply) and community residents (demand).

THE STOP COMMUNITY FOOD CENTRE (CANADA)thestop.org

The Stop provides numerous projects to increase access to skills and opportunity to share, cook and grow good food with community. Community cooking at The Stop brings people together to learn, cook, and share nutritious, culturally-diverse, and inexpensive meals. The Stop offer a range of cooking groups, all designed to build food skills, reduce social isolation, and increase access to healthy food, while connecting people to other resources, including health, legal, and settlement services.

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BACKGROUND READING

A Guide to Developing a Sustainable Food Purchasing Policy by the American Food Alliancehttp://www.aashe.org/resources/pdf/food_policy_guide.pdf

Building Local Food Programs on College Campuses http://www.realfoodchallenge.org/sites/realfoodchallenge.drupalgardens.com/files/BuildingLocalFoodProgamsonCollegeCampus-smaller.pdf

Campus Food and Garden Guide: UC Santa Cruz http://casfs.ucsc.edu/farm-to-college/campus_food_guide.pdf

Healthy Eating Advisory Service information for Food Outlets, Catering and Vendinghttp://heas.health.vic.gov.au/food-outlets-caterers-vending

Setting the table for success: A Toolkit for Increasing Local Food Purchasing by Institutional Food Service Managementhttp://www.farmtoinstitution.org/food-service-toolkit

UNIVERSITY FOOD GUIDES, PLANS AND POLICIES

Emory University, Eating Sustainably: An Introduction to Sustainable Foodhttp://sustainability.emory.edu/uploads/articles/2012/02/2012022112281530/Sustainable_Food_Information_Booklet.pdf

Middlesex University Sustainable Food Policy https://www.mdx.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0031/139099/Sustainable-Food-Policy-and-Objectives.pdf

Monash University, Sustainable Catering Guide https://www.monash.edu/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/238995/Sustainable-Catering-Guide.pdf University of Brighton, Sustainable Food Policy https://about.brighton.ac.uk/sustainability/index.php/download_file/view/1138/104/

University College London Healthy and Sustainable Food Policy https://www.ucl.ac.uk/transforming-ucl/pdfs/ucl-health-sustainability-food-policy

University of Leicester Sustainable Food Policy https://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/catering/downloads/Sustainable%20Food%20Policy%202012.pdf

University of Sheffield Sustainable Food Policy https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/polopoly_fs/1.255814!/file/Sustainable-Food-Policy.pdf

University of St Andrews Sustainable Food Policy https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/media/estates/Sustainable%20Food%20Policy.pdf

Yale Sustainable Food Program http://sustainablefood.yale.edu

There are many resources and example food plans to assist in transforming campus food environments.

FURTHER READING

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THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING.

This report is a living document and we want to hear from you. What examples of fair food projects do you have underway on your campus? What opportunities do you have to change your campus food environment? What do you think we have missed out on and should be talking about?

We are seeking feedback on this preliminary report and our fair food goals through September and October and will launch a final version at the end of this year. Please get in touch with us via email to let us know your thoughts.

Over the coming weeks and months we will be putting more resources up on our website. We encourage you to keep checking back to see how the project is growing.

You can sign up to The Challenge on our page or keep in touch by following us on social media via @fairfoodau

We are available to come to your campus and tell you, your colleagues and your community more about the Challenge. If you would like us to come and talk please get in touch via email and we will arrange a session.

We are seeking Fair Food champions, team members and volunteers. If you would like to get involved let us know.

info@fairfoodchallenge.comwww.fairfoodchallenge.com

GET IN TOUCH AND GET INVOLVED

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THE FAIR FOOD CHALLENGE WOULD LIKE TO THANK:

Those who participated in our student co-design writeshop: Anisa Rogers, Brendan McDonagh, Cathryn Hamilton, Desiree Tan, Duncan Wallace, Ellie Blackwood, Holly Gurling, Jenn Lacy-Nichols, Katherine Johnston, Laura Nix, Madeleine Beauman, Natalie Saunders, Nisha Liyanage, Pamela Frenk, Sophie Jackson and Sophie Lamond.

Members of the Melbourne Global Shapers community, particularly Pete Saunders, Michelle Kovacevic, Linh Do and Rangi Da Silva and those in Melbourne’s ever-growing food movement for their passion and insight.

To all those who contributed anecdotes, quotes, photos and time to gather information for this report including Anisa Rogers, Dr Chris Williams, Dr Claire Palermo, Dana Lahey, Dr Gyorgy Scrinis, Jane Dancey, Miranda Sharp, Paul Durant, Dr Rachel Carey, Prof Rob Moodie, Serenity Hill, Tammi Jonas and Theodor Bujor and special thanks to Judith Alcorn who has been a champion of the Fair Food Challenge from the start.

To Arjun Sing Chahel, Byron Kinnard, Lucie Bradley, Samaneh Shokravi and Sunsanee McDonnell from the Futures Project at the Unversity of Melbourne and Katherine Johnston and Emily Johnston from RMIT for contributing their student projects towards Fair Food Challenge’s objectives.

To Dr. Renee Beale and Carlton Connect for their support.

All photos taken by Katherine Johnston unless otherwise acknowledged.

Report designed by Jacqui Read and co-ordinated by Sophie Lamond, August 2016

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS