Finally catching up with the old posts!
The University sent out a food services survey under momentum of the Provost's Urban Farming Summit. Aramark is our Campus' contracted food service provider.
After almost a year of on and off searching, I finally found the news I've been looking for:
http://www.ciw-online.org/
What's this place have to do with Aramark?
Aramark's buying practices drives legal slave-like conditions for farmworkers in Imokalee Florida (where most of the tomatoes in America are grown).
[edit 14 Apr. 2010] Having read relatively recent news, the question now is whether Aramark's agreement to increase pay for tomato farmworkers is sufficient to put the issue at rest.
My response to the survey (was long...):
What specific changes would you like to see made to McKinley Cafe ? Please be specific.
Outline of comments:
1)Hotline to Forgotten Harvest for extra food; Ethics (ultimate solution)
2)Local food, Benefits; Ethics (ultimate solution)
3)Hot Breakfast—want less salty variety and quality
4)Meal value in terms of nutrition, proportion, price, and…Ethics
5)Please stay open Mon-Thurs until 6:10 (we’re just hungry before class)
6)This survey needs a “don’t know” or “n/a” radio button
Disclaimer: I’ve been a customer or a consumer (because of free/left over on-campus event food). These suggestions are carefully considered (some even researched just for you!), not extreme, and I provide reasonable and sustainable alternatives which can be beneficial to the company’s bottom line. I’d prefer to see a change in the company’s practices rather than have the school look elsewhere as the issues discussed below really can make the world a better place if they are done sincerely.
Also, I’m assuming there’s one person reading this response at a time, so I may say “you” or “Aramark” (assuming that’s our primary food service), or the Company (similar assumption as before) no personal offenses were intended.
With exception to #5, the following comments about food, sourcing location, ingredients, nutrition, proportion, organic foods, vegetarian, and vegan options were also strongly expressed by attendees of the Urban Farming Summit, the EverGreen Team, the membership of the Student Environmental Association, and the participants of the Roots and Shoots program.
Please take note, momentum is gathering and quickly organizing:
1.
Hotline to Forgotten Harvest for extra food, Ethics
Hotline to the Forgotten Harvest posted in many visible places AND USED whenever there's extra food at the end of the day (in the café and for catered events). There's no reason to waste food when homeless and hungry people live so close to our campus.
Here’s how you can set it up with them: http://www.forgottenharvest.org/
Other students and I have heard from Aramark staff that the left over food (including whole pizzas) get thrown into the trash at the end of the day. We’ve witnessed it too.
This is not a responsible policy for the company, and campus student organizations like the Student Environmental Association and Students for Ethical Investments take note and advocate against it. Also, the faculty and staff have acknowledged these issues concerning food operations; the campus EverGreen Team has held active discussion about the issue.
2.
Local food, Benefits, Ethics
Find better suppliers, get fresh ingredients/foods from local places, try to serve a lot of organic foods too. Eastern Market (which has year-round indoor farmer markets) of Detroit is only 11 miles away (I measured via google earth) and is second in agricultural diversity only to California! It's basically one of the top two in the nation for food.
What’s the reasoning behind locally sourced food?
Reduced packaging waste (which means less garbage going to be dumped—someone might also save money on garbage disposal costs), less energy wasted by distributors (someone saves money on gas), and reduced pollution. There are also ethical considerations for environmental and social justice:
OXFAM, the Coalition for Immigrant Workers, and the Student Farmworker’s Alliance (non-profit non governmental organizations) have identified and explicitly named Subway and Aramark for perpetuating modern day slavery through its purchases. How?
Some tomatoes used by these two organizations originate from farms (in Immokalee Florida) which do not honor basic human rights for its workers by subjecting them to slave-like conditions. It’s still an issue (I spoke to a worker from the Student Farmworker’s Alliance last year), and the following are excerpts from a document published in 2009:
“Role of the Corporate Food Industry in Farmworker Poverty – Retail food industry leaders such as Wal-Mart, Kroger, Aramark and Sodexo play an active role in creating the unconscionable conditions in Florida’s fields. These massive corporations are able to leverage unprecedented purchasing power to demand ever-lower prices from their tomato suppliers. This in turn puts a strong downward pressure on farmworker wages and working conditions, as tomato suppliers squeeze their diminishing profits from their workers in order to meet the volume discounts demanded by their corporate clients. As such, farmworker poverty feeds retail food industry profits.” http://www.sfalliance.org/resources/09CampaignAnalysis.pdf
‘2001 report to Congress entitled The Agricultural Labor Market
- Status and Recommendations, the US Department of Labor called
farmworkers ‘a labor force in significant economic distress.’ The report cited
farmworkers’ “low wages, sub-poverty annual earnings, (and) significant
periods of un- and underemployment” to support its conclusion, adding that
‘agricultural worker earnings and working conditions are either stagnant or in
decline.’ In its Profile of Hired Farmworkers, A 2008 Update, the US
Department of Labor found the level of ‘poverty among farmworkers is more
than double that of all wage and salary employees.’
Tomato pickers in Florida’s fields labor in sweatshop conditions every day, including:
• Sub-poverty wages – Tomato pickers make, on average, $10,000/year;
• No raise in nearly 30 years – Pickers are paid virtually the same per-bucket piece rate (roughly 45 cents per 32-lb. bucket) today as they were in 1980. As a result, workers must harvest over twice the number of buckets per hour today to earn minimum wage as they did in 1980. At today's rate, workers have to pick over 2 ½ TONS of tomatoes just to earn the equivalent of Florida minimum wage for a 10-hour workday;
• Denial of fundamental labor rights – Farmworkers in Florida have no right to overtime pay, even when working 60-70 hour weeks, and no right to organize or bargain collectively.” http://www.sfalliance.org/resources/09CampaignAnalysis.pdf
http://www.ciw-online.org/101.html
How can this be prevented or solved? One solution is to buy locally, but really, it’s to be considerate about who does what and where it all happens. The same practices could happen nearby. What makes a local distributor and grower better than one from a different area? Maybe it’s because you know how to get in touch with them, and hopefully it’s because you’ve developed trust with them.
3.
Better breakfasts: Most of the hot breakfast items are too salty, have very limited options, and there's a frightening list of many artificial ingredients in the breakfast items (like the sausage egg biscuit-a 3x4 inch list of ingredients in size 7 font). I would have purchased the sausage egg biscuit sandwiches (I tried it a few times) but I couldn't handle something in it, either I'm really sensitive to MSG, or the grease is too strong. Can the food service serve people other things for a warm breakfast? I’d be up for eggs on the grill, toast, or even pancakes/waffles (bonus if the pancakes, toast, and waffles are made from something like unbleached whole grain flour, or there’s a gluten free option [some people on our campus are allergic to gluten but would love to eat bready things]).
4.
Meal value in terms of nutrition, proportion, and price
If a food service calls something a meal, I expect that they use nutritional guidelines to define that meal. This is also why I responded with very few meal purchases in the survey-- a single slice of pizza (at $2-3) doesn't count as a meal, and it costs too much to get it with a salad and other things to satiate. Instead, I try to exploit the topping system at Subway.
Anyhow, here’s the latest and greatest—probably with better explanations, details, and research than what I provide: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/pyramid-full-story/index.html
BUT, I do offer some simple switches, alternatives, and suggestions for you:
Again, get and use whole grain buns/bread for everything (burgers, etc.)--it tends to be more nutritious and (for me at least) can taste better.
A nutritious meal should have complex carbohydrates (found in whole grain unbleached bread, brown rice, whole grain cous cous), quality protein (dairy like solid cheddar, feta cheese, etc. or meat, or beans/snap peas/legumes/nuts), and mostly (some nutritionists would argue 2/3rds to 3/4ths) fresh vegetables.
Potatoes are starchy plant roots. They don't provide the kind of roughage and nutrients found in fresh greens (like spinach, broccoli, etc.).
Substantial and satisfying vegetarian foods at reasonable prices--if an omnivore wouldn't eat it because it doesn't hold them over after 1 1/2 hours, it's not suitable for most people to eat and call a "meal".
EX. a salad should not be $4-$5 and be made of strictly lettuce for greens. Include spinach, fruits, and other greens in substantial portions (they also provide simple sugars for the body to use quickly), and don't forget the complex carbs (body's main source of long-term energy) and proteins (muscle and brain uses this stuff--important for students).
Oh, and vegetarian or plain cheese pizzas disappeared for several weeks which even further limits the choices for vegetarians (luckily, I'm better described as part-time vegetarian, and probably didn’t carry enough money to buy lunch from campus anyhow).
Some plant oils (like olive oil) are also recommended. Want to know what makes a meal instantly classier than it already was? Have quality olive oil (I know, probably not local—up to you to find something else) and some fresh herbs participating in a serving.—wow, makes me think of almost using silverware! Drizzle some on the fresh vegetables above, or on pasta or pizza, and it makes for a fine enhancement. Also, please try to refrain from using the plant oil solely for frying.
Also, there are many vegans who would (or do purchase) food from the cafe, but only rarely as vegan options are almost never present.
Aramark’s outstanding performance at the Urban Farming Summit demonstrates that it can meet a minimum of 50% organic and local foods which are nutritious, satisfying, and flavorful. Plus, there was a viable menu for vegans. We’re holding the company to that standard now.
5. Finally, hours: Please remain open until 6:10 pm Mon-Thursday! It makes a difference for many hungry students in late-night classes.
Thanks for reading!
A Hungry Student
P.S. This survey needs a “don’t know” or “n/a” radio button, for example, nutrition transparency at the campus is poor and I don’t really know what I’m eating, so I refrain from eating from campus when feasible. Would it be fair for me to rate it as the worst when clearly some of the foods I did eat (like some sandwiches and tabbouleh) weren’t junk?
What specific changes would you like to see made to your campus meal program that would increase your likelihood to purchase it? Please be specific.
Proof that it's a better value than bringing food from home or eating elsewhere.
A flier would suffice, thanks!
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