Pictured: Naimah Chaney, Araceli Nava, Martha Sierra, Photo: Roxsand King
A movement is underway on the University of Chicago campus that pairs eco-conscious menus with eco-business principles
By Maureen McMahon
This Earth Month, explore two UChicago Dining locations that have earned national recognition for their environmental commitments: the sleek, community-oriented Café Logan in the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts and the stalwart, 10,000 meals-a-week Arley D. Cathey Dining Commons on S. Ellis Ave. and E. 60th St. Both establishments welcome the public — the café was intended as a community space, and for $18 paid at the Cathey entrance you can enjoy a meal in the campus dining commons.
The vegan pesto chickpea wrap at Café Logan
Café Logan features an eclectic menu of made-to-order wraps, sandwiches, and salads featuring seasonal, local ingredients. Café manager Araceli Nava says vegan options are the most popular, especially the pesto chickpea salad wrap, the avocado toast, and the plant-based sausage. The café supports local businesses with coffee from Chicago French Press and beverages from Warrior Kombucha and Sundrip. It is the only café on campus that serves wine and craft beer, making it popular with locals who come for live jazz and art gallery celebrations.
At Cathey, you will find diverse cuisines from around the world served up by friendly staff who take pride in their stations. Weekends feature fresh fruit, baked pastries, and fair-trade coffee. A 2009 renovation of the historic building preserved its dramatic 1890’s architecture — vaulted ceilings, wooden beams, murals — and modernized its operations and services areas, making for an impressive glimpse of early UChicago when you sit down at its large communal tables.
Strides in green dining can be seen and sampled across all UChicago Dining’s four commons and fifteen food outlets, and for three years, Café Logan and Cathey have earned a three out of four stars accreditation by the Green RestaurantⓇ Association (GRA) for their higher standards related to operations and environmental impact, placing them among a small number of higher ed institutions in Illinois with the designation.
Amreh Hopkins
As a sustainability and community engagement director for Chartwells Higher Education at UChicago, Amreh Hopkins makes it his job to fulfill UChicago Dining’s mission to build community through food and to partner with hyper-local producers to support the surrounding neighborhoods. “Helping local BIPOC farmers partner with a large institution is life changing and generation changing,” he said. Thirty to forty percent of ingredients are purchased from minority- and women-owned businesses and enterprises within 250 miles.
Similarly, he said, small steps on each campus to save on energy, water, waste, and costs can have a large impact. “By auditing their operations and menus and implementing dozens of environmental steps at these locations, the University demonstrated its commitment to green dining operations, pushing to get to the next level and to show accountability and transparency.”
So, what signals to a diner that steps are being taken to be more ecologically sustainable? Those schooled on traditional cafeteria service will notice Cathey has no trays or straws, condiments are served in bulk, and flatware and dishes are reusable, biodegradable, or recyclable. There are healthy options at every station, with the Rooted Station boasting all-vegan dining.
Customized digital menus educate diners on local ingredients, fresh produce, and label items that are vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, Zabiha Halal, or Glatt-certified Kosher. The menu is continuously refined by their dietitians and culinary team, who championed Cathey setting up the first nationally certified gluten-free station at a university.
Student Eva Lim, ’26, commented, “I appreciate that UChicago Dining tries to center messaging that discourages food waste and that the utensils and dishes are reusable — these are great steps towards sustainable dining.” She meets regularly with UChicago Dining and the Office of Sustainability to liaise on behalf of students to progress green dining, especially with regards to plant-based improvements.
Deneen McRoy
Behind the scenes, environmental steps related to energy, water, and waste savings enhance green operations. Low-flow aerators on sinks save water, staff are educated on waste and recycling diversion, biodiesel fuel from cooking oil gets collected, and they opt for Green Seal cleaning chemicals and 100% recycled paper goods. Green infrastructure like rooftop solar, insulation, and green building materials also improve the overall footprint.
“This movement is maturing, not emerging,” said Deneen McRoy, senior director of dining services, who has been a leader in UChicago Dining for eight years. “Since Chartwells joined in 2021, we have many more options like milk alternatives and broader cuisines from around the world,” she said.
“The GRA steps have also helped cut costs and engage our staff in sustainability. We use our twice-daily staff rallies, what we call Ten at Ten, to educate our team on sustainability topics so they can engage with students and participate.”
UChicago Dining takes pride in providing spaces where students can gather to eat, relax, and build community over great food. Their efforts also help shift an industry to encourage restaurants to become more environmentally sustainable.