Previously, many groups at UBC relied on ordering event catering from external companies in the lower mainland, who then must drive orders to campus, resulting in unnecessary carbon emissions and packaging waste. To address these issues, UBC Food Services’ Sage Catering, a division of Student Housing and Community Services, has expanded its offerings to provide drop delivery catering on campus.
Before launch, the Sage Catering team took several steps to ensure that this new service is the most sustainable option for catering on campus. An example of putting their sustainability values to work by implementing the Student Housing and Community Services Climate Action Plan, the team recognized that traditional drop delivery catering can generate significant amounts of waste and emissions, in addition to other issues.
Instead, the Sage Catering delivery model focuses on short-distances, reusable materials, and low carbon menu options. By offering a catering delivery service for campus events, UBC units are able to reduce the emissions associated with transporting their order to them, and receive food that is fresh, delicious, and hot.
In addition, the Sage team is exploring options to transition their fleet to electric vehicles in the future. And by keeping the money spent on catering on campus, Student Housing and Community Services can make a greater contribution financially each year to university operations, which can in turn be used to invest in more sustainable equipment and infrastructure.
“The decisions we made in developing the Sage Campus Delivery offering are a direct reflection of our Food Services’ Vision and Values, specifically our commitments to being part of a climate friendly food system on campus, to supporting local food production, and limiting waste as much as possible. ” - Colin Moore, Director, UBC Food Services.
Zero single-use packaging, food scraps composted, dishes reusable
One of the biggest commitments the team made was to eliminate single-use packaging and disposable-ware from the catering delivery service. This approach ensures zero waste, as food scraps can be composted and all dishes are reuseable. While this method adds some cost due to the initial investment in reuseable items, as well as some extra labour time to account for collecting and washing items, the Sage team recognized these were critical steps to advancing UBC’s zero waste goals.
Menu focuses on lower carbon proteins: plant-based, poultry, OceanWise fish
The culinary team also approached the development of the menu for this new service with climate issues in mind. The delicious and diverse menu emphasizes lower carbon proteins like plant-based, poultry, and OceanWise fish and does not include any beef or lamb.
The chefs also list the plant-based options prominently in each section of the menu, highlighting them prominently to customers. The menu incorporates numerous local food suppliers, including fruits and vegetables from the UBC Farm, locally roasted coffee, Konscious Plant-Based “seafood”, Kindred Cultures beverages, and more. The team also worked with the UBC SEEDS program to identify the appropriate climate friendly food label to add to each menu item, and are exploring solutions to add these labels to each item in their online order service in the future.
Demand has been strong since the service launched in February, and the Sage team looks forward to serving even more departments on campus, reducing the climate impact of catering at UBC one delivery at a time.
Learn more about the drop delivery catering on the Sage drop delivery catering service: sage.ubc.ca/campus-delivery.