SGB pushes for healthier, greener campus

According to the Student Government Board, Pitt’s dining services offer too much plastic and not enough “real food.”

Board member Mona Kazour introduced resolutions for the Real Food Challenge and BYO(bag) pledge at Tuesday’s meeting in front of 35 people in Nordy’s Place. The Board is advocating for the University to increase the amount of healthy, sustainable food on campus while reducing Pitt students’ plastic bag use.

Six Pitt students — Jessica McDonald, a senior majoring in environmental science; Nadin Suler, a senior majoring in environmental studies; Shannon Achille, a junior majoring in rehabilitation sciences; Steve Nicolet, a senior urban studies and pre-med major; Joelle Weiss, a sophomore majoring in environmental studies; and Megan Adgate, a senior majoring in environmental studies — launched the “real food” project. 

The group is working alongside the Real Food Challenge, a national organization that strives to help college students push for healthier and greener on-campus dining services, to bring more real food to Pitt. The group’s project, likewise titled the Real Food Challenge, will measure how much real food Pitt serves to students.

McDonald said the six students would assess real food with a Real Food Calculator, a virtual system devised by the Real Food Challenge national organization after nearly four years of research. 

According to its site, the Real Food Calculator defines food as real if it meets one of four requirements, including food that is local or community-based, produced in an ecologically sound way that also promotes fair treatment of workers involved and treats animals humanely.

The calculator uses the four requirements to assess and determine a percentage of total real food served at institutions. 

“The Real Food Challenge gives students the opportunity to learn more about a food system that truly nourishes producers, consumers, communities and the earth,” McDonald said.

Suler said she and the rest of the students working on the Real Food Challenge have not yet calculated the percentage of real food served at Pitt. The group will determine that number based on the calculating system, which they hope to calculate in five to six weeks. 

The group hopes to reach the goal of 20 percent real food served on campus by 2020.

Once the group has calculated a real food percentage, group members will include that number in a documented pledge, which will also include the goal of 20 percent real food served on campus, to present to Pitt administrators. 

Suler and McDonald said they have been working on the Real Food Challenge since the beginning of the semester.

They hope to have the University sign the pledge by the end of this semester.

Jon Berger, the mid-Atlantic regional coordinator for the Real Food Challenge, said college students play an important role in the challenge because students hold a lot of leverage within their institutions. 

In addition to eating real food, SGB wants students to cut back on plastic bag usage.

While students can take a free plastic bag after they purchase food at one of Pitt’s dining locations, the University will limit students to 15 free plastic bags per semester starting Feb. 3. 

Students who exceed the bag limit will have to pay 25 cents for each additional plastic bag they use.

The Board is recommending to the University that a portion of the fee is donated to the Pitt Green Fund Advisory Board. 

McDonald, along with Liza Boulet, created the BYO(bag) campaign.

Boulet, a senior majoring in environmental studies, said the BYO(bag) policy is a campaign that she and McDonald came up with to reduce the amount of plastic bags used on campus. 

According to an email from Keith Bauman, Sodexo’s director of operations, Pitt students use about 15,000 plastic bags each week, totaling about 420,000 plastic bags each year.  

Boulet said she hopes the policy will encourage students to opt for alternatives such as reusable bags.

“I’m very much about the amount of plastic we consume in general, and I think that if there’s one thing that’s easy to reduce, it’s plastic bags because there’s a lot of other options,” Boulet said.

Isaac Freedman, coordinator of the Green Fund Advisory Board, said the group officially supports the Real Food Challenge and the BYO(bag) pledge.

The Green Fund Advisory, a student-run organization that helps support and finance student-led environmental sustainability projects  , allocated $500 to the Real Food Challenge. 

Kacy McGill, SGB’s Environmental Committee liaison, said the committee had worked with Boulet and McDonald in the early stages of the project last semester.

McGill said it’s important for college students to be aware of their impact on the environment and to try to do what they can.

“We need to change how things are going instead of just waiting until the problem accumulates,” McGill said. 

McGill said the Real Food Challenge and the Bring Your Own Bag campaign help to inform people about environmental issues.

“We need to emphasize how much we impact the environment and, in college, this is a period of learning, so it’s good to inform people about a situation that they might not be aware of,” McGill said.

Nites said the Board is committed to helping students involved in programs like the Real Food Challenge and Bring Your Own Bag in achieving their goals.

“For these environmental issues, it is important for SGB to demonstrate that students are committed to sustainability and actually want to decrease our footprint on campus,” Nites said. 

In other action:

Board member Abby Zurschmit said she will release a survey about Pitt’s dining services online through the Board’s website and social media pages, as well as distribute hard copies today asking students if the services are suitable to their needs, schedules and allergy restrictions. 

Board member Andrew Abboud said he met with Debra Fyock, director of the University Book Center, about establishing a student focus group to improve the University Store by determining what products students would purchase and looking for ways to reduce textbook costs.

Board member Brandon Benjamin is asking for student feedback about his plan to establish a fixture on campus, which members of student groups would paint to advertise their groups and their events.

Board member Sara Klein said she is working on a survey about the University’s fitness facilities with Benjamin and Abboud. The survey will ask students about their preferences for gym hours, how often they use the facilities and the conditions of the equipment.

Nasreen Harun, Allocations Committee chairman, announced SGB is moving all allocations requests online for a trial process starting Feb. 1 at 5 p.m. The Allocations Committee is hosting Allocations 101 sessions to explain the new process of uploading funding requests online. The next session will be this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in room 837 of the William Pitt Union.

Allocations:

Panther Strides requested $7,531.83 to pay for costs associated with a 5k it is hosting. The Board approved $2,290.56 and denied $5,241.27, a portion of the costs.

Greek Intervarsity requested $511.59 to compete in a conference in Indianapolis. The Board approved the request in full in line with the allocations recommendation.

The Panther wrestling club requested $750.01 to compete in a tournament in Jamestown, N.Y. The Board approved the request in full in line with the allocations recommendation. 

The Panther wrestling club also requested $638.04 to compete in a competition in Toledo, Ohio. The Board approved the request in full in line with the allocations recommendation.

Students for Liberty requested $653.30 to attend a conference in Washington, DC. The Board approved the request in full in line with the allocations recommendation. 

Muslim Student Association requested $625 to pay for refreshments for their fourth annual fast-a-thon. The Board approved $587.50 and denied $37.50, a portion of the costs.

National Student Speech Language Hearing Association requested $1992.44 to attend a conference in Orlando, Fla. The Board approved the request in full in line with the allocations recommendation. 

National Society of Collegiate Scholars requested $1,860 to attend a conference in Orlando, Fla. The Board approved $1,460 and denied $400, a portion of the costs. 

Pitt ski and snowboard team requested $1,010 to attend the Timberline competition in West Virginia. The Board approved the request in full in line with the allocations recommendation. 

Panther International Justice Mission requested $1,914 to attend the Justice conference in Los Angeles. The Board approved the request in full in line with the allocations recommendation.

PantherRaas requested $1,926.44 to attend a competition in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Board approved the request in full in line with the allocations recommendation.

Pitt women’s volleyball club requested $4,394.88 to attend a competition. The Board approved $2,642.88 and denied $1,725.00, a portion of the costs.

The Board has allocated $44,618.39 so far this year.

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article stated that the group has the goal of reaching 20% real food by the end of the semester. This was incorrect. The group has the goal of reaching 20% real food by 2020.