Center For The Advancement Of Foodservice Education And Kendall College Present Inaugural Green Award To Johnson & Wales University, Charlotte

The Kendall College School of Culinary Arts and the Center for the Advancement of Foodservice Education (CAF�) presented its first joint Green Award to Paul Malcolm from Johnson & Wales University at Charlotte, North Carolina. The award, presented at the CAF� Leadership Conference in Denver, included a $1,000 cash prize and complimentary registration at the conference. It is the first-ever national award to recognize secondary and postsecondary culinary-arts and baking/pastry programs for their commitment to sustainability.

The award-winning program sprang from Chef Malcolm's desire to provide a learning opportunity for his children. Composting their household waste in the backyard, he explained they were turning their food scraps into "vitamins for the garden." While teaching class one day at Johnson & Wales, he began collecting food waste in a five-gallon bucket to take home to the compost pile and that was the beginning of the "bucket brigade." Today, the program collects 560 pounds of food waste four days a week, removing more than one ton of compostable material from the waste stream each week.

The award was presented by Dean Christopher Koetke, CEC, CCE, dean of the Kendall College School of Culinary Arts. "We embarked on our own sustainability journey in 2005 and, with this award, we are encouraging other culinary programs to do the same. We believe the move toward sustainability starts with baby steps and that is literally true of Paul Malcolm's program at Johnson & Wales," stated Dean Koetke. "From a child's lesson to a program that composts almost 60 tons of food waste each year, it not only reduces the waste stream, but it also provides rich nutrients to support the next generation of fresh produce."

Other finalists developed a number of noteworthy programs. The Anne Arundel Community College Hospitality, Culinary Arts & Tourism Institute (Arnold, MD) started a honey bee colony, which was born out of concern about difficulties with Colony Collapse Disorder, which threatens food production. Santa Rosa Junior College (Santa Rosa, CA) developed an interdepartmental program with the agriculture department to grow organic, fresh vegetables and fruit for use in classrooms and their Brickyard Caf�. Finally, California State University, Fresno started a worm composting program to support its student-operated organic farm and also reaches out to K-12 students to teach them how to compost and create community gardens.

The judging panel included Christopher Moyer, manager of the National Restaurant Association Conserve initiative, Richard Young of the Food Service Technology Center and Leigh Belanger from Chefs Collaborative. Selection was based on the integration of sustainability into the school's educational programs and/or operations. The winning program was selected for its level of innovation; perceived impact on students' understanding of sustainability practices and their importance; and the ease with which elements of the winning program can be implemented in similar programs nationwide.

Full information about award criteria and the application process for 2010 can be found at www.cafemeetingplace.com in the "Instructor Scholarship and Awards" section. All secondary and postsecondary culinary-arts or baking/pastry programs in the United States, whether for-profit or non-profit, diploma- or degree-granting, are eligible.


About CAF�
Founded in 2002, CAF� specializes in providing needed resources to educators so that they may more successfully train students for vibrant, fulfilling careers in the ever-evolving foodservice industry. Through its Web portal for educators and students; online magazine, The Gold Medal Classroom; and series of skills and learning workshops nationwide, CAF� is de