California University Leads Organic Food Trend

On Monday April 3, the University of California Berkeley became the first college in the United States to offer students an officially certified organic salad bar. UC Berkeley’s Crossroads dining commons is the first college dining hall to receive organic certification from the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF), a Santa Cruz-based trade association that certifies restaurants and processors to standards outlined by the USDA National Organic Program. By spring 2007, all four of the dining halls managed by Cal Dining, one of the campus food services, will offer certified organic salad bars. “This is huge, and it’s certainly the mark of the beginning of a trend in food service toward organic,” said Jake Lewin, director of marketing and international programs at CCOF, the Santa Cruz-based organization that issued the landmark organic certification. “While there are numerous colleges and other institutions that serve some organic food, until now, none has made the leap to being certified,” he said. “What Cal Dining is doing points the way for other colleges and institutions to go.” Shawn LaPean, director of Cal Dining, said that going organic was a challenge. “We wanted to incorporate organic products into our program because it’s the right thing to […]

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