Sustainability
AT A GLANCE
Why Sustainable Food Service?
- 85% of all food consumed in Hawaii is imported
- $3 billion annually flows out-of-state in food and beverage imports
- Due to the multiplier effect, replacing $1 billion of imported food with local food would result in an impact of approximately $3 billion to the local economy
- According to the World Watch Institute - food travels an average of 1,500 to 2,500 miles from farm to plate
- Even more distance in Hawaii
- Results in 17 times more oil and 17 times more carbon emissions than buying locally grown
- Due to the multiplier effect, replacing $1 billion of imported food with local food would result in an impact of approximately $3 billion to the local economy
- The foodservice industry, per square foot, is the most energy intensive commercial sector in the country
What Are the Components of Sustainable Food Service?
- Biodegradable Disposables
- If cost-effective or even cost-neutral
- Buy Fresh, Buy Local
- First choice whenever available and cost-neutral
- Edible Gardens
- Whenever possible, grow what you eat
- Composting Food Waste
- Utilize your food waste to generate compost to be utilized on campus as high-grade organic fertilizer
- Fuel From Food
- Utilize waste cooking oil to generate biodiesel fuel
- Waste Not Want Not
- Establish conservation mind-set, keep equipment operating at efficient levels, fix leaks
Biodegradable Disposables
- Reduce the level of polystyrene or other oil based disposables by replacing with biodegradable disposables
- Biodegradable disposals can be made from: Paper, Bamboo, Corn Plastics or Bagasse (Sugarcane fiber)
- Works best when combined with a composting project
- KCC Culinary has two sustainable outlets that utilize biodegradable disposables and plans to go 100% in all outlets in the near future
Buy Fresh – Buy Local
- Reduces energy waste
- Reduces food and transportation costs
- Increases quality
- KCC Culinary Arts has established a policy of “whenever possible and if cost neutral, utilize local first”
Edible Gardens
KCC Culinary has established both herb and vegetable gardens on campus that adhere to the USDA’s Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) guidelines for certifying food safety
- Serve as source of fresh herbs and vegetables
- Serve as a model for others to follow
- As they are education and training tools, the department utilizes grant funding to support its efforts
Composting Food Waste
- KCC Culinary has created several on-campus models of composting food waste and currently focuses on composting all of its Pre-Consumer food waste using one of these methods:
- Vermi-composting
- Earthworm composting utilizing commercial units
- Funded by a private grant
- Forced-air composter
- Commercial Earth Tub unit
- Funded by a USDA grant
- Vermi-composting
Fuel from Food
- STEM Center creates bio-diesel from our waste cooking oil
- Utilized in our diesel utility cart
- Plans include the installation of a commercial biodiesel unit on property
Waste Not Want Not
- Invest in keeping equipment and facilities in good repair:
- Restaurants use five times more energy per square foot than other commercial buildings and five times more energy in the kitchen than in the rest of the building.
- Energy costs represent 30 percent of a typical building's annual budget.
- Energy costs have been increasing at a rate of 6 percent to 8 percent per year.
- ENERGY STAR labeled kitchen equipment consume about 40 percent less energy than typical ones
- A leaky faucet dripping one drip per second can waste more than 3,000 gallons of water a year. A leaky toilet can waste about 200 gallons of water a day.
