Davidson College offers more plant-based cuisine to students

Currently, more than 40 percent of meals offered at Davidson College’s dining facility are plant based.

Sustainability on the Plate

Davidson College has partnered with the Humane Society of the United States to bring more plant-based meals to its diverse body of students seeking healthier and more sustainable foods as part of the daily offerings.

“Davidson College Dining understands that providing world-class cuisine on campus starts locally with our college farm and extends through our diverse team of chefs, led by Executive Chef Craig Mombert, who specialize in global cuisines,” says Pinky Varghese, director of dining services at Davidson College. “Providing fresh and sustainable plant-based foods while reducing our carbon footprint are goals we take seriously, though never at the expense of great taste or quality in our process.”

Mombert explains that the chefs in dining services have always focused on creating scratch-made meals with customizable food stations, but they have seen more interest from students requesting more strictly plant-based meals in the last two to three years.

With a horseshoe-shaped salad bar that is almost 50 percent vegan, a few other examples of the flavorful plant-based cuisine include dishes like Chana Masala with Basmati Rice, Black Bean Frito Pie, Sorghum-based taco filling with Black Beans on the Side, Black Lentil Cremini Taco with pickled Cabbage and Vegan Cheese and more.

Experts point to health and the environment as key motivators for changing diets. This generation of students is increasingly demanding more environmentally conscious and sustainable plantbased options. By serving less meat and more plants, Davidson College is taking a critical step in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. While more than 40 percent of the meals offered in the college’s dining facility are already plant based, the college plans to also reduce its purchase of animal-based products by ten percent.

Student concerns about health, climate change, factory farming and environmental injustice are motivating institutions to examine and change their practices. This partnership with the HSUS also will move Davidson College closer to achieving goals outlined in the college’s Climate Action Plan, says Yancey Fouché, the college’s director of sustainability. “The campus farm and composting program have helped the college move towards a closed-loop food system over the past decade,” she says. “This latest, focused effort to prioritize plant-based menu items will be cheered by students seeking to align their values to action—ranging from animal and climate activists to members of our community just beginning their journey with eating as a step towards personal and planetary health.”

davidson college parTners wiTh humane socieTy oF The uniTed sTaTes To oFFer planT-based meals For sTudenTs

by Renee Roberson photos courtesy of Davidson College Dining Services