Believing and teaching that chefs are gatekeepers of the food system, Seattle Culinary Academy’s efforts to embed sustainable principles and practices into its curriculum and student experiences began in early 2000 with sustainable kitchen practices and progressed into formalization of those practices and values in 2005 with the course, Sustainable Food System Practices (CUL 151). This course has been expanded into three one-credit courses of mandatory coursework for students enrolled in culinary arts and specialty desserts and breads.

Seattle Culinary Academy forged a relationship with Quillisascut Farm School for the Domestic Arts, where student cooks journey to learn the farm-to-table continuum. A summer course, Learning from the Ground Up, exposes culinary students to the “bounties of the Skagit,” during which they learn how to plant, tend and harvest a 2-acre parcel of land donated to the program, with harvested produce incorporated into menus back at school. Additionally, Seattle Culinary Academy maintains a plant-science lab/green house, teaches nose-to-tail butchery and food-preservation skills, and operates a GMO-free kitchen.

“Our success is a tribute to our entire team,” says Linda Pal Chauncey, associate dean of Seattle Culinary Academy. “We embrace and integrate sustainable practices into our curriculum to positively impact our students and the environment. It is my hope that our success will inspire others—especially those at public institutions who have felt constrained by budgetary cuts similar to ours—to move forward on sustainability initiatives so crucial to the development of culinary students and the health of our food system.”

The runner-up for the 2012 CAFÉ/Kendall College Green Award is UMass Dining at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, under the direction of Kenneth (Ken) Toong, executive director of UMass Auxiliary Enterprises. UMass Dining’s Permaculture Initiative converts unproductive grass lawns on campus into ecological, socially responsible and financially sustainable permaculture gardens that are easy to replicate. Over the past year, students, staff and community members created three educational permaculture gardens. To date, they have planted more than 1,500 fruit trees, berry bushes, herbs, flowers and vegetables and are committed to transforming more grass lawns to gardens on the campus each year.

UMass Dining created an extensive online social network that allows quick and effective updates about projects, which entices new volunteers to the garden. Harvested crops are supplied to UMass Dining and prepared in daily meals, with the result of increased customer-satisfaction ratings. Toong’s hope is that at least 50% of the food consumed on campus will soon be locally grown. He also wants to encompass as many organic components as possible, expand the amount of composting on campus and reduce carbon emission by 50%, as stated in the campus’ Climate Action Plan.

The CAFÉ/Kendall College Green Award is the first-ever national award to recognize secondary and postsecondary culinary-arts and baking/pastry programs for their commitment to sustainability. Selection criteria are based on the integration of sustainability into educational programs and/or operations, and the objective of the award is to build the body of sustainability resources in foodservice education. The winning program also receives a $1,000 cash prize.

Photo: Keijiro Miyata (l.) of Seattle Culinary Academy receives the 2012 CAFÉ/Kendall College Green Award from Christopher Koetke of the Kendall College School of Culinary Arts. Courtesy of Brent T. Frei.