This past weekend The University of Guelph Sustainable Restaurant Project hosted Forward Food- Sustainable Food Systems Student Conference. We had student attendance from eight different colleges and universities from across Southern Ontario; welcoming Humber College, Fanshawe College, Centennial College, Niagara College, Conestoga College, George Brown College, Ryerson University, and of course The University of Guelph. These students joined us from the … Continue reading Looking ‘back’ at Forward Food!

Growing concerns about climate change mean consumers are increasingly interested in pro-environmental, sustainable alternatives to the status quo. There has recently been a movement towards reducing and eliminating one-use items, a shift that has been overwhelmingly consumer-driven. This, alongside trends towards take-out and delivery of food have resulted in a paradoxical demand for both reduced … Continue reading A New View on Restaurant Waste

On Saturday March 16th we are hosting "FORWARD FOOD", a conference on food systems for hospitality and culinary students from across Ontario.  One of the unique aspects of this conference is that it is being produced and delivered by a group of fourth year students from the University of Guelph's School of Hospitality, Food, and … Continue reading The Forward Food Team

On Saturday March 16th a team of University of Guelph students from the School of Hospitality, Food, and Tourism Management will be holding a conference on food systems.  The conference, "Forward Food", will host 100 hospitality and culinary students from colleges and universities across the province. The student team has assembled a world class field … Continue reading Forward Food – Sustainable Food Systems Student Conference

This year will be a busy one for us at UGSRP.  It all starts next month with the Restaurants Canada show being held from February 24-26 at the Enercare Centre in Toronto.  (Show Website)   This year’s theme at the show is “Sustainability” and we will be fully engaged and participating in many ways.  Our own Bruce McAdams … Continue reading 2019 will be a busy year for us!

For many years the CN Tower was famous for being the tallest building in the world.  A Toronto landmark, the tower is no longer the tallest building in the world but is still one of the nations busiest tourist attractions.  In its earliest existence, one of its most famous features was its’ revolving restaurant called … Continue reading Setting the bar high, ‘extremely high’ in this case!

  I spent a good part of my summer researching food waste at several long-term care facilities.  While the operations I visited provide exceptional care for their residents, they do produce a significant amount of food waste.  It was relatively easy to identify how food waste was generated, a little harder to determine if that … Continue reading A “throw away culture” in long-term care food-service.

The A&W Beyond Burger In my ten years of studying and advocating for sustainability in the restaurant industry I can’t remember a moment like this.  The last few months have seen some substantial announcements by large restaurant companies that are game-changers.  A&W which continues to lead the way has recently announced they will stop the … Continue reading Turning a Corner!

This spring we sat down to produce a ‘how to start a green team guide’ for restaurants.  We did this because an informal study we conducted showed us that fewer than 10% of Restaurants in Canada had active green teams in their operations. A formal study conducted by Danagelico (2015) showed that the creation of … Continue reading Green Team Guide for Restaurants

A few weekends ago my son had a swim meet in Windsor. We booked a room at a downtown hotel and settled in for a weekend of racing and enjoying what the city had to offer. The room at the hotel was lovely and the service top notch.  The hotel was an ‘extended stay’ suite … Continue reading The ‘one-use’ hotel!