Cultural/Social Initiatives

Diverting from Landfills

Hospitality Services strives to "divert" materials, equipment and food, from landfills, by:

• Donating left-over food to local food banks on a daily basis.
• Numerous "vintage" dish sales have been hosted for staff and students, with proceeds going to Western Heads East, a Western "grass roots" organization.
• Auctioning old equipment after it has out-lived its usefulness.
• Collecting pop can tabs for wheelchair purchase.
• Reusing old documents as scrap paper.

Education

To educate residence students on the importance of recycling and other energy conservation initiatives, the Blue Box Toss is hosted in all residence dining halls - preferably at the beginning of each school year. Participants answer "skill testing" questions and then have the opportunity to toss the ball into the blue box to win prizes. The response is always very positive, and it's a great way to teach them the ways of their new "home".

Although turning off our lights for an hour won't stop climate change, it does demonstrate that our actions are important and that every little change adds up to make a big difference. Every year, Hospitality Services staff are encouraged to participate both operationally and personally; it can be as simple as flicking off a switch - literally. In all our locations across campus, all non-essential lighting is turned off and equipment is unplugged in recognition of Earth Hour.

Each year, on/around Earth Day, members of the Hospitality Services team don their "gardening" gloves, grab their pokers and garbage bags, and head outside to help clean up the area around their buildings. Generally this event comes in early spring and as the snow retreats, a lot of garbage is exposed.

Hospitality Services hosts an annual staff conference where over 400 staff participate in training and information sessions as well as team-building exercises. Past themes and agendas have included a strong focus on sustainability including awareness presentations. Re-usable shopping bags were distributed containing an energy efficient light bulb and "leaf Pledges". Our Hospitality Services EnviroTree bloomed, showcasing individual leaf pledges submitted by our staff as a way to show their commitment to "leaving a lighter footprint".

It is critical to provide all staff with the education and awareness required to enable them to do their jobs well - and safely. Staff training initiatives include:

• First Aid Training
• MSD Training
• AODA Training
• Respectful Workplace Training
• WHMIS
• Basic Kitchen Skills
• Smart-Serve Training
• Health & Safety staff training

Relevant materials (ie "Get Fresh... Eat Local") related to responsible living are promoted to Hospitality Services through mailer pieces as well as the Hospitality Services staff website.

Food Safety

Food safety must always remain front and centre for any food service operator.

Although basic hand washing is still the best way to eliminate the spread of communicable diseases, water-free hand sanitizers have been installed in all kitchens and serveries/dining rooms for the use by both staff and guests to our operations. Not only does this provide a convenient way to sanitize hands, it has also resulted in a reduction in water consumption.

The colour-coded cutting board system used across campus is yet another way to prevent cross-contamination in food prep areas.

A third party Food Safety audit company, Steritech, has been contracted to fully inspect all Hospitality Services operations twice per year. Program standards are based primarily on the FDA Model Food Code, internationally accepted benchmarks, and industry best practices.

Hospitality Services' HACCP good operating practices which ensure a high level of food safety, include:

• Keeping samples of all prepared foods for a period of seven days
• Hot and cold temperature checks throughout the receiving, cooking and serving process of the food
• Daily and weekly cleaning checklists, etc.
• Rez Dining has implemented a web-based, hand-held paperless tracking system to further enhance our food safety program.

It is critical to provide all staff with the education and awareness required to enable them to do their jobs well - and safely. Staff training initiatives include:

• First Aid Training
• MSD Training
• AODA Training
• Respectful Workplace Training
• WHMIS
• Basic Kitchen Skills
• Smart-Serve Training
• Health & Safety staff training

Promoting Healthy Lifestyles

A healthy, balance lifestyle is important for all members of the Western community – students, staff and faculty.

Hospitality Services is pleased (and lucky) to have our own Nutrition Manager on staff who is available to answer any food-related questions or concerns that may arise for students and staff. Free nutrition counseling is available by appointment; for more information visit our nutrition website.

Residence Dining features a six-week residence menu cycle developed to reflect Canada's Food Guide, where whole grain breads and cereals, dark green and orange vegetables and fruit, lower-fat milk products and leaner meats, poultry, fish and legumes are incorporated into each day's menu.

• Ingredients are listed on daily menus and nutritional analysis for the various menu items are available online.
• New easy to identify menu icons in Residence allow students to make quick & easy selections.

The "Residence Choice" program represents our commitment to ensure that healthier options are available, highly visible and well promoted in all Rez Dining locations. Found on every daily menu, these selections are prepared with healthy grains, vegetables, lower fat dairy products and/or leaner meat or alternatives from Canada's Food Guide.

Hospitality Services uses a zero trans-fat frying oil. A unique canola & corn oil consisting of 64% (by weight) of non-hydrogenated monounsaturated fats is used. Most divisions have switched to Becel Margarine, a non-hydrogenated, trans-fat free margarine.

Set up daily in the residence dining halls, the rate-your-plate displays, showcase one entire lunch or dinner (main entree, beverage, dessert, soup or salad) complete with nutritional breakdown. The goal of the program is to help students establish a healthy frame of reference when it comes to calories, fat and other nutrient recommendations.

To help accommodate the hectic "Lifestyles" of the Western community, Hospitality Services launched the "Lifestyles - Where Fresh is Tastiest" concept. Located in each residence as well as most campus operations, the "Lifestyles" program continues to build in popularity. "Lifestyles" areas are equipped with countless healthy on-the-go options including salads, sushi, sandwiches and smoothies.

The Purple Carrot Organics Plus concept was introduced in 2008 as a pilot project in two Residence Dining operations. Its popularity grew quickly and the program was expanded after only a couple months. Organic items are purchased through The London Food Co-op Store and include items like tortilla chips, cheese twists, salsa, cereals and many more items.

The University of Western Ontario was deemed the fourth most vegetarian-friendly university in Canada. Sixteen finalists were selected among Canadian universities to complete in a round-robin contest where students, staff and faculty were asked to vote. The goal of Hospitality Services is to continue to develop new and innovative vegetarian and vegan options across campus. Thirty percent of items on the residence menu are either vegan or meatless. Geared to appeal to the vegetarian and omnivore guest, these surprisingly healthy items are sure to please even the most discriminate of pallet.

• Local berries were sourced and purchased by Hospitality Services' contracted produce supplier. Arrangements were made with local farmers to provide seasonal strawberries and blueberries (a total of 1400 lbs). In turn, our produce supplier cleaned, froze and packaged the berries for us. They are stored and shipped to us as needed. Previously used frozen berries were imported from Chili and Ecuador. Our local berries are used for smoothies, parfaits and for the Waffle Bar in all Residence Dining locations.
• Hospitality Services has also requested that our produce supplier provide us with anything seasonal in our region which includes apples, mushrooms and tomatoes for most of the year. During peak growing seasons, we use local Ontario fruits and vegetables such as asparagus, broccoli, peppers, peaches, strawberries and squashes, to name only a few. We incorporate these fresh items into our daily menu through fresh fruit displays, stir fries, tosses and daily vegetables. Local potatoes come to us directly from the farm, delivered by the farmer himself. We also use a local beef supplier, whose beef is fed with local corn.
• The "100 Mile Market" is an innovative means of providing an exceptional culinary experience to our guests while featuring fresh, local foods from London and the surrounding area. The motivation for this feature menu was to promote local, organic and seasonal product, based on ingredients from within a 100 mile radius of the University; items in season and plentiful. This is a great way to promote local farmers, local and sustainable small businesses, and businesses and farms that are environmentally conscientious. Products are environmentally-friendly, energy efficient, biodegradable and where feasible, fair-trade items are used. No bottled water permitted, only our freshest tap water. This concept has been featured in both Residence Dining and Great Hall Catering.
• Every October, Residence Dining hosts Apple Week. During that week, bushels of fresh apples from a local orchard are brought in and different varieties of apples are promoted. Pricing is also adjusted, just for the week, to encourage participation from students. A different apple dessert is also featured each day of the week. Many of the apple desserts are served warm, which just adds to the whole experience by filling the serveries with smells of freshly baked apple crisp and dumplings.
• The soup supplier for Hospitality Services was changed to a local company. To further enhance the soups offered, scratch soups are featured in Residence Dining and Great Hall Catering. The home-made soups are a fresh and tasty compliment to the wide selection of prepared soups and chili available.
• More than 40% of Hospitality Services suppliers are local including our main food distributor. In support of Hospitality Services efforts to reduce our environmental footprint, we look for partners that share this commitment to environmental improvements and increased sustainability which given significant weight in the RFP (Request for Proposal) process.

A Nutrition Kiosk was introduced in the UCC Centre Spot dining room to provide our Campus Eateries guests with convenient access to nutrition information related to many of the franchise locations, thereby enabling them to make informed food choices.

• Hospitality Services recognizes the importance of staying/getting more active. Physical activity is encouraged through a variety of departmental events and opportunities such as a departmental baseball team, family ice skating, bowling events, family BBQ which includes games and activities for all ages, and a fitness break during various departmental meetings and start-up conferences.
• All Hospitality Services staff have access to the Campus Recreation facilities on campus. Staff memberships are reasonably priced.
• Free ice skating is available over lunch, at TRAC.
• Fitness sessions specifically geared towards Hospitality Services staff have also been hosted in the past.

Sustainability Central

In an effort to enhance and increase general awareness of the Hospitality Services Recycling program, Sustainability Central has been introduced. This is a highly visible program which has greatly impacted the recycling efforts in the units hosting these stations.

During the summer of 2009, graphic signage was also introduced to make the decision making even easier.