Food and Nutrition Services at The Nebraska Medical Center has recently implemented several measures to help its operation become more sustainable and environmentally sound.
“We have to be good stewards of the environment”, said Marty Prettyman, director of Food and Nutrition Services at The Nebraska Medical Center. “Each individual makes choices everyday on what we consume and by seeking out sustainable products, we can help reduce the carbon footprint and leave the planet better for future generations.”
To reduce its carbon footprint and increase sustainability, Food and Nutrition Services:
- Buys and uses fair trade coffee;
- Recycles cans and plastics used in kitchen operation as well as those left by diners in campus cafeterias;
- Uses new napkin and utensil dispensers that have significantly reduced the amount of products that are used and wasted (25 percent fewer napkins have been used and more than 4,500 pounds of plastic has been saved since the installation of the new dispensers);
- Uses Ecolab’s environmentally-friendly APEX cleaning program — which has 95 percent less packaging than other brands;
- Purchases 100 percent sustainable seafood and poultry products whenever possible;
- Uses locally grown products whenever possible to reduce shipping costs and support local economies;
- Switched to one-piece, recycled foam take-out containers; and
- Recycles all grease used in the cooking process.