Benedict College is taking an aggressive step to offer healthy plant-based food options on campus. Learn more about the food agreement that Benedict is one of the first schools to sign onto in the release below.
This joint effort comes in the wake of Benedict College’s campus-wide rollout of Meatless MondaysSHARE
Benedict College, a historically Black liberal arts college (HBCU) in Columbia, South Carolina, is among the first colleges in the country to be signed onto the Forward Food Pledge. This collaboration commits Benedict to a minimum 5% annual increase in plant-based menu offerings through 2024 and secures the college’s status as a trailblazer in the plant-forward movement.
Benedict College, which contracts its foodservice operations to Perkins Management Services, has been working with student groups and external organizations to increase its plant-based offerings. Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis, president and CEO at Benedict College, echoed the sentiment of the Benedict community in saying, “Benedict College is always seeking innovative and healthy ways to improve its food service program for students, faculty, staff and guests. As a transformative college, we support plant-based culinary cuisine as a new food option.”
Says Sam Pearson, director of dining services at Benedict, “We have built a strong partnership with the community by listening to and sharing ideas with different groups regarding healthier options. We’ve worked alongside the Student Government Association, the Student Based Food Committee and the newly appointed BCcares Health and Wellness Initiative, which involves faculty and staff.”
The Humane Society of the United States, which is part of the Forward Food Collaborative, commends Benedict College for its enthusiasm and vigor in advancing its plant-based menu offerings to better serve Benedict’s student population. In signing the Forward Food Pledge, Benedict College now has access to the Forward Food Collaborative’s ever-growing toolkit of free resources and will no doubt continue to benefit from offering delicious, cost-effective and sustainable plant-based items for years to come.
