Meeting Minutes — September 12, 2011

Present: Steve Bennett, James Dontje, Bob Douglas, Judy Douglas, George Elliott, Kristina Fosse, Lisa Heldke, Renee Hoppe, Amelia Holmes, Sarah Hund, Steve Kjellgren, Joe Lencioni, Adam Lugsch-Tehle, Brooks Stapleton, Mike Stehlik, Christine Tenhoff, Greg Wiessner

Organizational announcements and intros (10 minutes):

1. SAVE is focusing on issues of food and nutrition for athletes this year
2. Greens’ energy is on recycling effectively. They will be exploring whether this is the year to “ban the bottle”—i.e. to get rid of bottled water on campus.
3. Steve B. will be co-chairing a Gustavus 150 task force on the subject of comprehensive health and wellness issues, and hopes to link their efforts in to the work ofDS and KC
4. Admission: Working with students visiting, to show how the DS is another thing that sets Gustavus apart. Working with incoming students and others who have allergies.
5. Johnson Center: Campus reps will be attending a campus sustainability event at University of Minnesota Morris, and will be bringing ideas back to our campus.
6. Alcohol Ed/PAs: A focus on healthy choices across the board. Student Health 101 is a new publication to which we can contribute content. See Judy or Kari Ekhart if you’d like to submit something.
7. Big Hill Farm: It relies on the Marketplace for both compost materials and a market for its produce. It has had a good year, especially in the pepper department. It will be hosting a St. Peter Day event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  It is also hosting a volunteer event the afternoon of Friday the 16^th.
8. PAs: They’re working to operationalize a smoothie bar, and also exploring ways to dispense peanut butter that are safe but less packaging-intensive.
9. Tenhoff, Publicity Girl: continuing to focus on g.m. foods. Christine has volunteered to work to raise the visibility of the Kitchen Cabinet. She will work with Renee Hoppe to get an article in the WEEKLY

Resources:

1. A brief article from BACCHUS.ORG, May 2010 about changing eating habits by focusing not only on nutrition education, but also social, ethical issues that are affected by changes in eating habits.
2. A healthy collection of books and videos is available in DS office; he’ll be developing an elaborate checkout procedure soon, but in the meantime, just go in and ask
3. Places to “advertise” the resources housed in the DS office: the television in the dining room; the Courtyard Café; a display in the main library.

DS Director report:

1. Beverage contract progress:
1. Steve explained, briefly, the contract process and the reason we will contract with exactly one provider and that it needs to be  big provider (two is too expensive; none is not an option; the only real players capable of fulfilling a contract this size are Coke and Pepsi).
2. Two different classes are doing research to support the decision making process. We all are welcome to contribute to this effort. See the attached letter sent to the community last year.
2. Circumpolar year: the DS will have a “zone” where foods of a different circumpolar country or region or ethnic group is featured each month. There will be display materials to support and explain the offerings.

Other foci for the year

1. Composting: next steps to develop a system. The Senate sent a position paper to the President’s Cabinet last year; no further progress has been made since that time. Steve and/or other members of the committee with some kind of oversight authority will contact members of the cabinet to learn where progress is on this endeavor. Jim mentioned that if monies can be identified in advance, the project might be able to advance more quickly. He might know about some relevant sources of funding.
2. Gustieware ongoing monitoring: last year was the first year that less money was spent replacing Gustieware than would have been spent on cardboard boxes. This year, all students are “Gustieware savvy,” because the seniors were first years when the program was initiated. At present, the policy of not having dorm pickup of empties is still in place, however Steve will talk with the new residential life director to see whether he might wish to explore the cost-saving, labor-saving, and mess-reducing benefits of pickup.