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read moreCHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Chartwells Higher Education is continuing their ongoing commitment to sustainability with the introduction of new plant-based options on campus. Vegan Awareness Month provided the perfect opportunity for Chartwells Higher Education to team up with students and staff to improve their health, reduce food costs, support local communities, and improve the environment.
Expanding upon their already successful FYUL program and introducing alternative meat options such as Beyond Meat and the Impossible Burger, Chartwells challenged their chefs to create not only plant-based dishes but full scale pop-ups that can be creatively executed on campus to provide variety and alternatives to traditional campus dining.
“Over the past year our plant-based options have increased in popularity by over 30%,” says Chartwells Higher Education Vice President of Sustainability and Culinary Services, Laura Lapp. GenZ students are more mindful of what they are eating, where their food is coming from and the impact it is making on the environment. While we have a growing number of vegan and vegetarian menu items available to our culinarians, we sought further opportunities to educate and offer these dishes to our guests through small, intimate pop up experiences.”
Throughout the month, chefs were challenged to come up with vegan-based recipes and pop-up experiences aimed at educating guests as well as offering unique plant-based cuisines. The month-long initiative generated 76 submissions and vegan experiences on Chartwells campuses across the country. The winners of the pop-up contest were chosen based on their creativity with plant-based foods:
As a result of this contest, over 100 new vegan recipes were added to Chartwells menu portfolio. Chartwells continues to look for ways to bring plant-based options to Chartwells campuses as the trend and the demand for vegan meals continues to grow.