Food and the SDGs

Food is considered a “nexus” SDG, in that improvements in food production and provision would have significant knock on effect to all other SDGs.    In addition a considerable number of sustainable food initiatives have been developed and promoted from within UCC, which positively impact both the University population and the wider community e.g. the Cork Food Policy Council, and the developments towards sustainable food provision on campus by the current main on-site catering contractor, KSG

The health and wellbeing of our staff and students are fundamental to achieving UCC’s mission.  The University has been awarded formal recognition by the HSE South for its efforts in Health Promotion and Improvement, under the umbrella of the UCC Health Matters initiative.  UCC is guided by the  Okanagan Charter (the International Charter for Health Promoting Universities and Colleges) in this regard.

UCC Farm to Fork

In 2016, UCC became the first University in Ireland to have fresh vegetables harvested from its own land and served in six of its restaurants.  80 to 100 tonnes of root vegetables are harvested throughout the winter months.  The plot is managed by the family-owned “Waterfall Farms” who deliver the fresh produce to our catering company KSG.  The vegetables also go into our soups which are served in 13 outlets across campus.  UCC’s catering company, KSG, has been awarded the highest accolade from the Sustainable Restaurant Association, a three star “Food Made Good” award.

Success, it's In Your Nature

Have you ever wondered what is needed to succeed as a student? One may say being bright and creative, thinking quickly or not getting overwhelmed by the goals that we have to accomplish. Nature can give us a hand in being all of those things. It is scientifically proven that contact with nature helps us sustain our attention, restores cognitive capacities when we are tired, supports our creativity, and reduces stress, improving our wellbeing.

At UCC, we are incredibly fortunate with our award-winning green campus and an abundance of nature, right on our doorstep! Our colleagues in the Graduate Attributes Programme together with the Green Campus Team firmly believe that Success, it's in Your Nature.

To read more about it go to New Success Zone module: ‘Success: It’s in your Nature’

Meatless Mondays

UCC Green Campus, UCC Health Matters, and KSG are running a series of “Meatless Mondays” in the main campus restaurant during term time.  Cutting down on our meat consumption is good for both our health and the health of the environment.  To find out more about the environmental benefits of Meatless Mondays, read our blog post here.  We encourage our staff and students to eat a healthy and varied diet, which can include plant-based meals.

Why are we doing this?

We are encouraging students to cut out meat one day a week for health and environmental reasons. Some facts about food nutrition can be seen below:

• It takes 39 gallons of water to produce one pound of vegetables, this is compared to 1,850 gallons of water for a pound of beef
• It takes 2.2 Kcals of fuel to porduce 1 Kcal of grain, while taking 25 Kcal of fuel to produce 1 Kcal of all meat based production
• Carrots, potatoes, and rice produce .42, .45 and 1.3kg GHG of food respectively, compared to 30kg for beef

The initiative is in conjunction with UCC Health Matters.

UCC Health Matters

In 2012, UCC was officially recognised as a Health Promoting University.   The main aims of the Health Promoting University (HPU) Initiative are:

• To integrate within the university’s culture and structures a committment to health and to developing its health promotion potential.
• To promote the health and wellbeing of staff, students and the wider community.

UCC Green Campus work with the Health Matters Team to promote the many co-benefits of being more environmentally friendly.  For example, choosing more active travel options in the daily commute can also reduce your carbon footprint.

For more information visit the UCC Health Matters website:

https://www.ucc.ie/en/healthmatters/