Bon Appétit Management Company

Student run gardens and farms, such as Washington University in St. Louis’ Burning Kumquat, have gained a tremendous amount of popularity in recent years. Last summer, to a lucky group of St. Louis kids, the Burning Kumquat was known as Camp Kumquat, a three week, free of charge camp that provided a “crash course in farming and environmental education”.  The two noble and motivated Wash U students who created Camp Kumquat demonstrated that student run gardens can be used to not only benefit those on campus but to educate the surrounding community about sustainability and healthy eating, while enabling everyone involved to have a great time.  Campers learned to garden, cook their own meals, and reconnect with the way in which their food was grown.  Bon Appétit at Wash U was so impressed by Camp Kumquat’s mission that they asked […]

For our company, serving sustainable seafood – specifically, seafood purchased in accordance with the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch Guidelines – is a kitchen principle. Many consumers now carry Seafood Watch Pocket Guides to help them make sustainable seafood choices both at the market and at restaurants. The recent oil spill is a poignant reminder for us all to reflect on, and possibly improve upon, our commitment to sustainable seafood. On CNN.com, BAMCO CEO Fedele Bauccio discusses the harmful activities facing global fisheries. While overfishing and the problems facing our oceans can at first be complex, Fedele offers simple steps for consumers who love to eat fish, and speaks optimistically about potential solutions: There are indeed solutions, which include changing how and what we eat from the ocean. Important institutions and thought leaders are working to raise awareness about sustainable […]

As the East Coast Fellow for Bon Appétit Management Company, I spent this past semester traveling to colleges and talking to different people about food sustainability. On the way, I met many of the people who actually imagine and create the food that we eat–our chefs. So here's a little tribute to them. Enjoy! ~Posted by Carolina Fojo, East Coast Fellow for Bon Appétit Mgmt. Co.

   What, indeed? Well, Peter Murrey, a junior at Washington University in St. Louis (featured above), didn’t seem to think there was anything more appropriate. He was one among many students who decided to celebrate Earth Day 2010 in a bang-out fashion. In fact, seventeen different WashU organizations banded together for a day-long celebration that had everything from face painting and cotton candy to a film screening of Food, Inc. to a presentation about food sustainability by a recent WashU alum (yours truly!). Bon Appétit was also showcasing how to eat a Low Carbon Diet throughout the day, adding to the festivities. WashU has undergone a lot of transformations in the “green” department since I started out as a freshman there five years ago, and this was the biggest Earth Day celebration I’ve seen yet. I’m looking forward to an […]

At many BAMCO college and university accounts, it's common for enthusiastic students and BAMCO employees to maintain gardens that supply fresh produce for the campus community and cafés. A growing number of corporations have also started gardens, where employees can get their hands off of the keyboard and into the dirt at lunch, and enjoy fresh produce in corporate cafés and break rooms. BAMCO is at the forefront of this trend with at least 12 of our corporate accounts actively gardening. In this New York Times article, journalist Kim Severson covers the rise of company gardens, including an interview with Resident District Manager Kent Buell about some of the challenges in starting and running a successful corporate garden.

Here's a fun little clip :0) While going through footage of an interview I did with one of our chefs about local food, I noticed something that I hadn't noticed before…pay attention to the background…I couldn't stop laughing! ~Posted by Carolina Fojo, East Coast Fellow for Bon Appétit Mgmt. Co.   

The Harned Family, Three Sisters Farm By Vera Chang, West Coast Fellow, Bon Appétit Management Company Foundation Since I attended the 2010 Eco Farm Conference session, “Is Small the Only Beautiful?” I have reflected on this question. My headed turned from side to side during the closing plenary as Eliot Coleman and Gary Hirschberg spoke, two East Coasters with contrary farming philosophies. Coleman is an organic farmer, author, and proponent of small-scale farming while Hirschberg is the Stonyfield Farm CEO and proponent of offering large-scale support for organic production. A couple of weeks ago, I drove through California’s Central Valley, a 450 mile region home to California’s most productive agriculture. The area is dominated by large-scale agriculture. It is not uncommon for a single farm to be several thousand acres. Collectively grossing $27 billion in revenues last year, the Central Valley provides roughly […]

As a Fellow for Bon Appétit Management Company, I spent this last semester traveling to different East Coast colleges where we serve food. I met a lot of people on my travels–here’s a video of Darlene, a baker in our pastry kitchen at Oberlin College in Oberlin, OH. She taught me how to make the most delicious coconut macaroon cookies—Enjoy! ~Posted by Carolina Fojo, East Coast Fellow for Bon Appétit Mgmt. Co.

April 8, 2010 Washington D.C.   As I travel along the East Coast, giving presentations about “The Story Behind the Food” that we eat, every audience is different. Some are wide-eyed and silent, asking few questions. Some have seen “Food, Inc.”, or read The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and are eager to learn more. And then some groups are all about asking challenging questions. These groups are typically made up of individuals who are very passionate about food issues, and are excited to learn about what Bon Appétit is doing to create change, but are not afraid to challenge us either.   I recently went to such a college—I was invited to speak as part of the Green Lecture Series at Gallaudet University, school for the deaf and hard of hearing in Washington D.C. And I as I gave the presentation I’ve […]

What if each of us went to the store, bought two bags of groceries, and immediately discarded one? In a sense, that's what happens every day. There are no reliable estimates of how much food is wasted in the U.S. from field to plate, but the most educated guesses range between 40 and 50 percent. Startling statistics from Helene York's Atlantic Food channel post, but she also offers promising solutions to excessive food waste, and discusses BAMCO's waste reduction strategies and commitments as part of our Low Carbon Diet.