Aramark, the dining service provider for St. Bonaventure University, is making it easier for students and the campus community to choose climate-friendly foods through the launch of Cool Food Meals.

The program is part of St. Bonaventure’s ongoing commitment to the environment and sustainability.

Last October, World Resources Institute (WRI) announced that its Cool Food Meals badge will appear on Aramark menus, as part of a 10-university pilot beginning in spring 2022. The Cool Food Meals badge identifies dishes with a lower carbon footprint and will appear on more than 350 menu items.

“We’re grateful to Aramark for including us in their pilot program, especially since it aligns so well with our calling as a Franciscan institution to care for creation,” said Tom Missel, chief communications officer at St. Bonaventure. “We have an obligation to contribute in any way we can to reduce our carbon footprint.”

WRI measured the carbon footprint of hundreds of Aramark recipes to identify items that meet the Cool Food Meals criteria, based on the ingredients from farm to fork and the land used to produce the meal. If a dish’s carbon footprint falls below an established per-meal threshold and meets a nutrition safeguard, it is approved as a Cool Food Meal.

Cool Food Meals can be found on campus at Hickey Dining Hall. Some examples of dishes that will be labeled as a Cool Food Meals include Buffalo mac & cheese bowl, spinach and feta flatbread, and chickpea tagine.

Aramark is the first contract catering company to adopt the Cool Food Meals badge. Since 2015, Aramark has increased its climate-healthy plant-forward menu options through its Healthy for Life® initiative. More than 35% of main dishes the company serves on menus at workplaces, hospital cafes, and university dining halls in the United States are vegetarian or vegan.

Aramark’s commitment to the planet is a core part of the company’s sustainability plan, Be Well. Do Well., which is focused on positively impacting people and the planet. Aramark’s planet priority is focused on several initiatives addressing climate change.

The company is working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by offering more vegan and vegetarian meals, sourcing responsibly, operating more efficiently, minimizing food waste, and reducing packaging.

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure University is a community committed to transforming the lives of our students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a lifelong commitment to service and citizenship. St. Bonaventure was named the #5 regional university value in the North in U.S. News and World Report’s 2022 college rankings edition.

About Aramark: Aramark proudly serves the world’s leading educational institutions, Fortune 500 companies, world champion sports teams, prominent healthcare providers, iconic destinations and cultural attractions, and numerous municipalities in 19 countries around the world with food, facilities, and uniform services. Because our culture is rooted in service, our employees strive to do great things for each other, our partners, our communities, and our planet. Aramark has been named to DiversityInc’s “Top 50 Companies for Diversity” list, the Forbes list of “America’s Best Employers for Diversity,” the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s “Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality” and scored 100% on the Disability Equality Index. Learn more at www.aramark.com and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.