Stanford, CA – On October 26, 62 representatives from colleges and universities
across the United States gathered for the inaugural summit of a groundbreaking initiative:
the Menus of Change
University Research Collaborative (MCURC). The initiative was founded and
is jointly led by Stanford University, one of the world’s leading research institutions,
and The Culinary Institute of America
(CIA), the world’s premier culinary college. Today marks the launch of the official
website www.moccollaborative.org that will, over time,
provide downloadable resources such as recipes, toolkits, and training materials,
along with findings from multi-site, interdisciplinary research around topics such
as food waste, healthier beverages, values-based purchasing metrics, and reimagining
the role of animal and plant proteins on American menus.
An outgrowth of the CIA-Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
initiative, Menus of Change®:
The Business of Healthy, Sustainable Menus, the new Collaborative seeks
to accelerate the adoption of the 24 Menus of
Change Principles of Healthy, Sustainable Menus by leveraging the unique opportunities
of the higher education sector for advancing culinary literacy and nudging young
adults towards healthier food and lifestyle choices. The principles are evidence-based,
comprehensive guidelines, such as Lead with Menu Messaging
Around Flavor and Make Whole, Intact Grains
the New Norm. A companion goal of the Collaborative is to foster greater networking
and insight around interdisciplinary, food-systems level research, including the
use of campus dining facilities as living laboratories to test strategies for behavior
change.
Formed over the last year by a core group of campus dining representatives
and faculty from select institutions, the Collaborative has grown to a total of
118 members representing 37 colleges and universities consisting of academic faculty,
dining directors, executive chefs, and senior university administrators. Membership
ranges from Ivy League schools to larger state universities, as well as supporting
ex officio membership from a variety of organizations outside of higher
education.
Participating Institutions:
The Collaborative Was
Founded and Is Jointly Led by:
- The Culinary Institute of America
- R&DE Stanford Dining
- Stanford School of Medicine
University Members:
- Boston College
- Cornell University
- Duke University
- Harvard University
- Kansas State University
- Northeastern University
- Oregon State University
- Princeton University
- University of California, Berkeley
- University of California, Los Angeles
- University of California, Office of the President
- University of California, Riverside
- University of California, San Diego
- University of California, San Francisco
- University of California, Santa Barbara
- University of Colorado, Boulder
- University of Massachusetts, Amherst
- University of Montana
- University of New Hampshire
- University of North Texas
- University of Notre Dame
- University of Southern California
- University of Washington
- Yale University
Academic Members (Participating
Faculty):
- Chatham University
- Colorado State University
- Drexel University
- Hotel Management School Maastrict
- Johns Hopkins University
- Lebanon Valley College
- The New School
- New York University
- Queens College (City University of New York)
- University of California, Davis
- University of Vermont
Ex Officio Members:
- Google
- Jamie Oliver Food Foundation
- U.S. Navy
- U.S. Olympic Training Center
In addition to facilitating dialogue integrating these different
perspectives within and between campuses, the leaders at the three-day summit focused
on identifying the top educational materials and research projects the group would
develop in the year ahead. The meeting included meals that exemplify the culinary
creativity of plant-forward dining experiences inspired by Menus of Change, a sponsor
engagement forum to discuss opportunities for growers and manufacturers to partner
with members, and a series of breakout sessions with Stanford students to help translate
research ideas into action. Participants also toured the Stanford University campus
and its dining facilities, as well as the Teaching
Kitchen @ Stanford where its culinary programs are inspiring change through
food education.
The meeting also included a tour of the Google Food Program’s
operations at Google headquarters in Mountain View, highlighting the existing CIA-Google
partnership. The MCURC will work in tandem with the new CIA-Google Culinary Innovation
and World Flavors Lab now in development at Google’s Mountain View campus. This
applied research facility will function as a real-world testing ground to evaluate
an entire matrix of hypotheses on how best to implement the Menus of Change principles
in high-volume foodservice.
“This innovative collaboration presents an unprecedented opportunity
for real-world impact,” said Christopher Gardner, nutrition scientist and professor
of medicine at Stanford. “The target audience is bright young adults at universities
across the country, many of whom will soon be new parents and/or the next generation
of CEOs of major companies. We will be engaging them in research opportunities regarding
their own food environment and eating practices, and crowdsourcing their creativity
for solutions to the broken food system. With the initial 25+ universities on board
we will be conducting multi-site studies that include geographic representation
from across the country, public and private institutions, and a spectrum of dining
venues that exist across these campuses. The volume and richness of real-time data
to be collected will likely provide breakthrough solutions to current national and
global food-related crises that lie at the intersection of human health and the
health of the environment.”
“While never losing our industry’s heritage around special-occasion
hospitality, American foodservice is robustly picking up the
consumer-driven challenge
of creating more plant-forward, everyday menus—for our health, and
the health of
the planet,” said Greg Drescher, vice president of strategic
initiatives and industry leadership for The Culinary Institute of
America. “We are
excited about our new partnership with Stanford and the other member
institutions
and organizations in MCURC to foster greater innovation in the
university sector
around these imperatives. Our new Protein Flip infographic is
proof-positive of the opportunities to combine insights from chefs,
scientists,
and leaders in public health and sustainability, all coming together
in a delicious
strategy for change that is resonating on university campuses, and
beyond.”
“At Stanford, we believe that the same focus on rigorous inquiry
and innovation that takes place in the academic departments is just as important
when it comes to feeding the minds and bodies of our students,” said Shirley Everett,
senior associate vice provost for Stanford University Residential & Dining Enterprises (R&DE).
“I am so grateful to our partners at The Culinary Institute of America, Stanford
faculty, and in other universities and organizations across the country for their
commitment to leadership in this area. This groundbreaking new enterprise will give
us critical insights into nutrition and wellness and shape the way universities
engage with growers, suppliers, and manufacturers. This allows us to study, along
with faculty and a multidisciplinary array of other experts, ways to deliver healthier,
more sustainable menu choices and to support students’ development of lifelong,
healthy eating habits.”
“As the dining program for one of the leading research and academic
institutions in the world, we are committed to sharing our
discoveries and experiences
with others in the relentless pursuit of delicious and sustainable
food,” said Eric Montell, executive director of R&DE Stanford
Dining.
“The MCURC offers us tremendous potential for collaboration and
sharing among colleges
and universities across the country that are, like Stanford, also
focused on advancing
healthier, more sustainable life-long choices for students. Through
this unique
initiative, university-based scholars, senior business
administrators, dining directors,
and executive chefs are coming together to learn from one another
and collectively
impact the college food system.”
The Menus of Change initiative produces an annual report, holds
an annual leadership summit at the CIA’s campus in Hyde Park, NY, and produces many other resources for the foodservice industry, all of which
can be found at www.menusofchange.org. To keep up with news about
Menus of Change and its principles at work, subscribe to receive
regular updates on the website and follow @CIALeadership on Twitter with #CIAMOC.
For more information about
the Collaborative, please visit www.moccollaborative.org, or
contact:
Sophie Egan
Director of Programs and Culinary Nutrition for the Strategic Initiatives Group
The Culinary Institute of America
s_egan@culinary.edu
Eric Montell
Executive Director
Stanford Dining
Residential & Dining Enterprises
Stanford University
emontell@stanford.edu
Photo Caption & Hi-Res Image:
MCURC is an outgrowth of the Menus of Change initiative. The
aim is to accelerate the adoption of the Principles of Healthy, Sustainable
Menus by the higher education sector and to encourage young adults to make
healthy food and lifestyle choices. (Photo
credit: Courtesy CIA)
View hi-res image >
Media Contact:
Jan Smyth
Marketing Manager
845-451-1457
j_smyth@culinary.edu
About The Culinary Institute of America
Founded in 1946, The Culinary Institute of America is the world’s premier culinary
college. Dedicated to driving leadership development for the foodservice and hospitality
industry, the independent, not-for-profit CIA offers associate degrees in culinary
arts and baking and pastry arts; bachelor’s degree majors in management, culinary
science, and applied food studies; and executive education through its Food Business
School. Its conferences and consulting services have made the CIA the think tank
of the food industry in the areas of health & wellness, sustainability, world
cuisines & cultures, and professional excellence & innovation. The college
also offers certificate programs and courses for professionals and enthusiasts.
Its worldwide network of 49,000 alumni includes leaders in every area of foodservice
and hospitality. The CIA has campuses in New York, California, Texas, and Singapore.
About Stanford Residential and Dining Enterprises
Stanford Residential and Dining Enterprises
(R&DE) is a non-profit University auxiliary that includes R&DE
student Housing,
R&DE Stanford Dining, R&DE Hospitality and Auxiliaries, and
R&DE Stanford Conferences. The R&DE staff vision is to
be the best in the business by creating a culture of excellence.
Throughout R&DE,
we support respectful, open communications and encourage leadership
development
and staff recognition in a responsible manner that supports the
academic mission
of the University. R&DE has a wide variety of first-rate dining
halls, on-campus
restaurants, catering services, a guest house, Schwab executive
services, and conference
and meeting services that are designed to meet the needs of the
Stanford community.
R&DE houses 12,000 students and families in more than 350
residential buildings;
serves more than 18,000 meals a day in 22 campus locations; and
welcomes more than
20,000 conference guests a year.
For more information, visit rde.stanford.edu.
About Stanford Prevention Research Center
Through the Stanford Prevention Research Center (SPRC), a division of the School of Medicine and a leader in pioneering health research,
studies are being conducted around healthy and sustainable food systems with a focus
on investigating the potential health benefits of various dietary components or
food patterns. In 2010, Christopher Gardner, Professor of Medicine at SPRC and colleagues
from across the Stanford campus created the Stanford Food Summit, an unprecedented
annual gathering of Stanford experts on food-related issues from across all of the
University’s seven schools. The 2010–2014 Stanford Food Summits have provided a
catalyst for discussing solutions to some of the nation’s most challenging and important
crises that lie at the intersection of human health and the health of the planet,
including: the national health crisis, the climate crisis, outdated national food
policies, the hidden toll of industrial food production and much more.
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