Northland College

Northland College
  • Academics
  • Campus Life
  • Admissions
  • Athletics
  • Centers
  • Sustainability
Search
  • Directory
  • Campus Map
  • Calendar
  • Alumni
  • Giving
  • News
  • COVID-19
More...
  • Academics
    • Undergraduate
    • Faculty
    • Resources
    • Opportunities
      • Internships
      • Undergraduate Research
      • Study Abroad
      • Off-campus Learning
      • Student Jobs
    • Graduate Success
    • Course Catalog
    • Transcript Request
    • Commencement
  • Campus Life
    • Dining
    • Housing
    • Outdoor Orientation
    • Diversity & Inclusion
      • Indigenous Cultures Center
        • Native Student Offerings
        • Powwow & Awareness
        • Community Outreach
        • Native American Museum
    • Get Involved
    • Bicycles & Gear Rental
    • Fitness Center
    • Services
      • Counseling Services
      • Accommodations
      • Health Services
      • Safety & Security
  • Admissions
    • Visit Campus
    • Tuition
    • Financial Aid
      • Scholarships
      • Grants
      • Loans
      • FAFSA
      • Veterans
    • Enroll
    • Meet Your Admissions Counselor
    • College Fairs
  • Athletics
    • Athletic Website
    • Athletic Facilities
    • Varsity Club Membership
    • Buy Team Gear
    • Hall of Fame
    • Annual Golf Classic
    • Camps, Leagues, Tournaments
      • 3on3 Basketball Tournament
      • Basketball Camps & Leagues
      • Youth Soccer Camp
      • Softball Camp
      • Volleyball Camps & Leagues
    • Give to Athletics
  • Centers
    • Mary Griggs Burke Center for Freshwater Innovation
      • Our Work
      • Student Research Opportunities
      • Lab Services
      • Burke Center in the News
      • Water Summit
    • Center for Rural Communities
      • Rural Livelihood Initiatives
        • Quality of Life Database
        • Northwoods Community Survey
        • Opinion Polls
        • Local Food Systems
      • Human-Environment Connection
      • Publications
      • Data Visualizations
      • Student Opportunities
    • Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute
      • LoonWatch
        • About Loons
        • Protect Loons
        • Get Involved
        • Loon Appreciation Week and Poster
      • Timber Wolf Alliance
        • Wolf Awareness Week and Poster
        • Learn About Wolves
        • TWA Speakers Bureau
        • Wolf Status Reports
        • Vision for Wolves
        • Great Lakes Wolf Symposium
      • Youth Outreach Programs
      • SONWA Book Awards
        • SONWA Seals
      • Sigurd Olson Legacy
      • Apostle Islands Stewardship Symposium
      • Intangible Magazine
      • Forest Lodge Educational Campus
        • Rental Information
    • Hulings Rice Food Center
      • Compost Center
      • Larson Food Lab
      • Campus Gardens
      • Student Opportunities
  • Sustainability
  • Alumni
    • Alumni Board
      • Alumni Awards
    • Get Involved
      • Ask Our Alumni Panels
    • Pride Pack, Apparel, and Merchandise
    • Class Notes
    • Transcript Request
    • Update Your Information
    • Events
    • Give
    • Oral History Project
  • Giving
    • Christopher T. Morgan Scholarship
    • Meet Our Team
  • About Northland
    • President Chadwick L. Dayton
    • Northland College Magazine
    • Campus Sculpture Tour
    • Advocacy & Public Discourse
    • Consumer Information

Northland Deepens Commitment to Food, Social Justice

May 18, 2020

Share

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • email

Northland student Seth Bayliss on campusIn the last year, Seth Bayliss ’20, a sociology and social justice major, has sifted through stacks of invoices, researched thousands of food items, and entered over 11,000 bits of data into a spreadsheet. Bayliss’ deep dive into food purchases was part of the Real Food Standards, a national initiative to encourage colleges to shift from conventional foods to local and community-based, ecologically sound, humane, and certified fair trade foods.

“For more than two decades, Northland College has been a champion of local foods,” said Todd Rothe ’10, manager of the Hulings Rice Food Center. “Real Food provides standards that go beyond local and help us be more deliberate in all of our purchasing.”

As the Hulings Rice Food Center Real Food intern, Bayliss has audited all foodservice purchases for the 2018-19 academic year to identify ways to improve the College’s sustainable food procurement—and is currently assessing the 2019-20 purchases. Through its provider Chartwells, Northland currently purchases twenty percent real food—local, organic, humane, and/or fair trade—and is looking to the future, creating baseline data, goals, and policies.

“Seth’s data have enabled the College to make more informed purchasing decisions, track our progress, and affect greater change in the food system,” said Rothe, who serves on the College’s Sustainability Work Group and Food Committee.

Over the past year, the Food Committee has used Bayliss’s research to develop policies and standards that better align with the Real Food standards and campus community values. The work isn’t over, but Bayliss is optimistic about the future of Northland’s food program.

“I believe that changing the complex global food system will require institutions like Northland to utilize a holistic and inclusive approach,” he said. “Buying certified organic is important, but demanding fair labor conditions for farmworkers and humane animal treatment are equally important. In fact, it’s vital to creating a food system that takes social justice seriously.”

  • A City of Ashland No Mow May sign on campus

    Northland College Participates in No Mow May

    Northland College is participating in “No Mow May,” an initiative aimed at fostering a better habitat for bees and other pollinators. Throughout the month of…

    Northland College Participates in No Mow May
  • Cool School Badge

    Northland Named “Cool School” in 2021

    Sierra has again named Northland College a “cool school” in its annual top-100 list of sustainable colleges and universities. Northland College ranked seventy-third out of…

    Northland Named “Cool School” in 2021
  • Mosaic

    REFund Turns 20

    In 2000, the Board of Trustees approved a proposal from the Northland College Student Association for a student-led, student-financed, student-run fund for campus sustainability. And…

    REFund Turns 20
  • Northland College Hulings Rice Food Systems Center

    Hulings Rice Food Center Receives Funding for Hazelnut Development

    The Northland College Hulings Rice Food Center has been awarded $49,300 from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to work on product…

    Hulings Rice Food Center Receives Funding for Hazelnut Development
  • Visit
  • Info
  • Apply

News

  • Northland College to Help Finlandia University Students Continue Their Education with the Sisu Promise

    Northland College is launching the Sisu Promise to support Finlandia University students…

  • From the Archives: A Guide and Outfitter for the Northwoods

    In the entryway to the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute building on the…

  • Alaina A. Lenz ’24

    If you had asked me at any point before my senior year…

  • From the Archives: Giving a Voice to Intangibles

    The Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute archives include a small, saddle-stitched pamphlet titled…

  • From the Archives: Forest Lodge on Lake Namekagon

    In the summer of 1994, a number of individuals with homes or…

  • From the Archives: The Chequamegon Bay Area Partnership

    Chequamegon Bay and the wetlands and waterways associated with it are one…

  • For the Love of Learning

    In the spring of 1965, I graduated from high school and looked…

  • From the Archives: The Sigurd Olson Legacy Project

    In the fall of 1937, Sigurd Olson converted a one-car garage located…

  • From the Archives: Promoting Nature-focused Literature for Children

    In a 2003 press release, the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute announced that…

  • From the Archives: Lake Superior Programs at the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute

    It’s just a short walk from the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute through…

News Archive »

1411 Ellis Avenue
Ashland, WI 54806
(715) 682-1699 | Map
  • About Northland
  • Constitution Day at Northland
  • Consumer Information
  • Privacy Policy
  • Take a Class
  • Employment
  • Campus Store

my.northland.edu

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2023 Northland College. All rights reserved.

https://www.northland.edu/news/northland-deepens-commitment-to-food-social-justice

Our website uses cookies for necessary functions and to enhance your browsing experience. Learn more in our Privacy Policy.

Accept & Continue