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Student Food Security : The Seedlings Café Case Study

University of British Columbia. Campus and Community Planning

Seedlings Café is a student-run food outlet which aims to provide environmentally conscious food to the University of British Columbia community. Seedlings Café offers an affordable 100% vegetarian menu, and it also meets the needs of individuals who seek food that is vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free, thereby attracting a wide clientele made of undergraduate and graduate students, staff and faculty. Since opening in 2013 Seedlings has succeeded in not only bringing sustainable food to students but also in cultivating a space that fosters values rooted in environmental ethics and social justice, all within the realm of food. The future of the Seedlings Café depends upon the support of its main stakeholders, including the Graduate Students Society (GSS). The management of Seedlings Café has defined support in terms of a positive and transparent relationship with the GSS with the intent to strengthen partnerships and openly communicate and operate within the financial constraints of both parties. The main financial constraint for the café is the rent to be paid to GSS at $100/day. On the other hand, the GSS general manager has confirmed willingness to increase support to Seedlings Café so long as the requests remain within certain limits and be well documented. This report provides literature and survey data as well as an infographic tool in the hope of helping the Seedlings Café management demonstrate the environmental, social, economic and educational values of their enterprise to the GSS and the greater UBC community. The results of a survey of 230 customers executed during three weeks in February and March of 2016 revealed that 30% of Seedlings clientele are graduate students, and that more than half of them frequent Seedlings Café at least once a week. The top three reasons for all customers making purchases from the Seedlings Café include affordability, atmosphere, and the vegan/vegetarian food. The infographic presents the uniqueness of the Seedlings Café and its contribution to sustainability and food security. Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”

Text

UBC Social Ecological Economic Development Studies (SEEDS) Student Report; University of British Columbia. LFS 450

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0343352

Land and Food Systems, Faculty of

Unreviewed

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/