Duke

Duke has a strong reputation for high quality dining services.  This has been driven largely by the systematic implementation of best practices across campus through the Performance Assessment for Culinary Excellence (PACE) rating system developed by Dining Services Director Jim Wulforst.

Wulforst has invited Duke community members to work with him to add more environmentally preferable practices into PACE.  Thanks to the Green Grant Fund, graduate student Greg Andeck spent the 2004-05 academic year working with campus food vendors and dining services to identify and implement best environmental practices.  His work culminated in an inventory of the environmental impacts of Duke's eateries.

Greg's work was followed by the formation of an ad hoc committee of students, staff and community members interested in greening Duke's dining options.  The committee organized the "What's for Dinner?" program, a series of events in April 2005 that asked campus community members to consider how their food is grown, processed and prepared.

During the Summer of 2005, the Duke Divinity School chose to make environmentally and socially responsible dining a focus of their search for an operator of the new Divinity School Refectory.  Similarly, the Perk's new operator, Madhatter Bake Shop, is "greening" their operations. 

In the Fall of 2005, the Faculty Commons and Office of the Executive Vice President sponsored a course in the Center for Documentary Studies to teach students documentary skills by producing a photographic and narrative display for the Faculty Commons.  The documentary project focused on the fieldworkers, farmers, distributors and food preparers that provide food to Duke.

In addition to ongoing efforts to source more food from local farms, current efforts at Duke are looking to create a point system for the evaluation of dining facilities' performance with respect to sustainability and to increase the visibility of sustainability initiatives in campus eateries.