In 2019 the College decided to respond to the Lancet’s study “Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT-Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems” in two ways: by creating a College-wide working group to consider our own processes with respect to the sustainability of our dietary and planetary health in College, and by organising a series of discussions and meals that encourage us to think about food production, sustainability, nutrition, and waste, as they pertain to the health of our bodies and our planet.
As the heart of this programme were innovative chefs of national and international stature who created meals in collaboration with the College chef and took part in our discussions. One of these chefs, Douglas McMaster, is a trailblazer of the zero waste movement. He worked with our Head Chef and kitchen team to pass on his knowledge and methods for alleviating waste.
Food orders are placed daily during the week in order to cater specifically to the upcoming menus and events and limit wastage by only purchasing what we know we need. We aim to serve the same menus across the College community to alleviate waste. At the moment the kitchen is serving roughly 24% vegan/vegetarian meals (at lunchtime that figure is 38%). The College orders through the University buying group Foodbuy who are developing a carbon dashboard to help inform the ordering process.
All of our disposables are now compostable and our disposable cutlery is made of bamboo. Our suppliers are running initiatives to reduce waste, such as collecting the boxes that the food is delivered in and then reusing them. We recycle all of our glass and cardboard and any plastic waste via Oxford City Council, along with our food waste which they collect on a daily basis.
We have our own Keepcups and give a discount for each hot drink if you use one.