ABSTRACT In February of 2012, Chancellor Blumenthal signed the Real Food Commitment, declaring that UCSC would reach forty percent real or sustainable food by Reaching this goal entails using the Real Food Calculator to assess the amount of sustainable food purchased through UCSC Dining services. This project works to increase the recently calculated amount of "real food" (28 percent) on the UC Santa Cruz campus, assess the current percentage of sustainable food, and identify food items that could be more sustainably purchased. The Real Food Calculator will also inform and engage meal plan holders, Dining administration and staff, and other stakeholders interested in sustainable procurement and dining by developing an educational brochure for distribution and by contributing written content to the annual Campus Food & Garden Guide for educational purposes. Real Food Calculator and Outreach Project Crystal Owings, Tim Garlarneau, Josto Puddu, Weixin Cheng “Real Food is food which truly nourishes producers, consumers, communities and the earth.” PROJECT GOALS ASSESSMENT OF DINING HALL ITEMS complete the audit by the end of the academic year Have changes in place to reach 31% Real Food for the upcoming year. Generate a list of items to be upgraded to more sustainable options. OUTREACH Generate and distribute stickers for awareness Conduct Foodie Surveys to gauge the knowledge of food system efforts on campus among meal plan holders Create an educational brochure for UCSC students and meal plan holders to be distributed at every dining hall, food and environmentally related events. HOW IS THE ASSESSMENT COMPLETED? The assessment is an ongoing process due to the continuous changes in food items. The process of completing the calculator includes categorizing all of the items under the various vendors that UCSC Dining contracts. There may be little to a prolonged amount of research, including contacting vendors for more information. This whole process may be done individually or with groups as shown in the above Real Food Party. FUTURE OF THE PROJECT The assessment for the academic year is still in the process of being completed. Once the most recent real food percentage is calculated, there will be discussion on which items to improve in the dining halls. Currently, there are 1,713 items coded with 460 left to assess UCSC’s real food percentage. Due to the campus wide goal of 40% real food by 2020, this project will continuously be in use in addition to distribution and upgrades to outreach materials. HOW DOES THE CALCULATOR WORK? The Real Food Calculator is a stoplight tool using “green,” “yellow”, & “red” to assess the amount of sustainable food on campus. It uses Local and Community Based, Fair, Ecologically Sound, and Humane as categories for qualification. Real Food A: - Organic and locally produced strawberries from ALBA Organics Real Food B - Food produced within 250 miles from UCSC. Not Real Food -ingredients like High Fructose Corn Syrup or “all natural” claim Not Real Food -ingredients like High Fructose Corn Syrup or “all natural” claim