About Sustainability

As part of sustainability and an effort to contribute to the better future of the environment and our university, Reeve Union is doing its part by practicing eco-friendly actions in order to reduce its impact upon the environment and reduce its carbon footprint.

 

Reeve Union continues to make a difference through actively engaging in efforts to reduce consumption and waste, generate and purchase renewable energy, curb pollution, green building and purchasing, sustainable landscapes, as well as promoting sustainability through outreach.

 

Dining Sustainable Foods

Not only do we want to promote sustainability but we also want to make it part of everyday living. This includes the things we buy and consume and the way different dining locations work hand-in-hand with sustainable actions to promote eco-friendliness across campus.


Sustainable Building Actions

  1. Food: By batch cooking we are able to minimize food waste, thus saving money and energy.
  2. Water: Have you noticed that Blackhawk Commons is trayless? By going trayless, we reduce food waste and save water. This also decreases the likelihood of students gaining the famous “freshmen 15” by limiting the amount of food being carried.
  3. Energy: The Energy Star Rated dishwashing machines conserve water and energy.
  4. Pulper: A pulper in Blackhawk Commons squeezes the water from compostable solid waste, making it lighter to transport and sends it to the university's bio-digester where it produces methane gas, which is used to generate electricity.
  5. Motion Sensors: Reeve Union & Blackhawk Commons incorporated motion light sensors throughout the buildings in different offices and areas to reduce energy waste.


Sustainable Food Actions

Local Sourcing

By producing our own bakery items on campus, we can ensure fresh, out of the oven baked goods from scratch with no distance shipping of the product. Reeve Union and University Dining works hand-in-hand with other local businesses to provide students with fresh and local produce. View a list of products that are bought locally and are used throughout Blackhawk Commons and Reeve Marketplace.

  1. Lakeside Foods, Milwaukee, WI; Petite corn cob, carrot slices, whole green beans
  2. Cedar Crest Ice Cream, Oshkosh, WI; ice cream products
  3. Maglio, Glendale, WI; Fresh Tomato Cherry, Fresh whole melon watermelon seedless
  4. Borzynski Bros Dist. Franksville, WI; Fresh large green bell pepper
  5. Gehl Foods Inc, Milwaukee, WI; Sauce chili, Jalapeno cheese sauce
  6. Belgiosio Cheese Inc., Green Bay, Wi; Fresh Cielegene mozzarella cheese
  7. Klement Sausage, Milwaukee, WI; Sausage summer all-beef
  8. Birchwood Foods, Green Bay, WI; Taco Beef
  9. Custom Cuts FreshLLC, Milwaukee, WI; Chopped Romaine Lettuce
  10. Royal Kitchens Inc., West Allis, WI; Bread Focaccia Tomato Herb
  11. Emmi Roth USA, Madison, WI; Wisconsin cheese kit course
  12. Taylor Enterprise of Wisc, Ixonia, WI; Breading mix
  13. Sunrise Farms Inc, Neenah, WI; Tofu firm extra
  14. Bakers Qty Pizza Crusts Inc, Waukesha, WI; Dough Pizza Crust
  15. Sturm Foods Inc,  Milwaukee, WI; Non-fat Milk dry instant granulate
  16. Russet Potato Exchange, Bancroft, WI; Red potato
  17. Milmar Food Group, Brookfield, WI; assorted mini-quiche appetizer, vegetable eggroll, spring roll,
  18. Farmers Organic Food Intl LLC, Blair, Wi; Egg Shell
  19. Quaker Bakery, Appleton, WI,; Silver dollar roll
  20. Kikcapoo Valley, Wisconsin Rapids; Sliced Monterrey Jack Cheese, sliced sharp yellow cheddar cheese
Fair Trade

The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh is the first campus in the U. S. declared a Fair Trade University. Fair trade is a system of international trade that works for financial security, social justice, and environmental stewardship for growers and producers in the developing world. Here is a list of dining areas on campus that provide Fair Trade products:

 

Blackhawk Commons, Reeve Market Place, Sage Cafe, MiTaza Coffee House and all the other MiTaza To Go locations on campus serve Fair Trade Certified coffee, tea, and sugar. Corner Convenience Store: Chocolate. University Books and More: jewelry, arts and crafts.

 

Choose To Eat Meatless

Did you know? Recent data from a Harvard University study found that replacing saturated fat-rich foods (for example, meat and full fat dairy) with foods that are rich in polyunsaturated fat (for example, vegetable oils, nuts and seeds) reduces the risk of heart disease by 19%.

During dinner time in Blackhawk Commons at the Grill,  students can now make their own stir fry.


Did you know? Red and processed meat consumption is associated with increases in total mortality, cancer mortality and cardiovascular disease mortality. Studies have proven that by including more fruits and veggies in one’s diet, it can lower blood pressure, increase metabolism, and improve digestion overall.


And what are the benefits of eating more fruits and vegetables?

Just  consuming beans or peas results in higher intakes of fiber, protein, folate, zinc, iron and magnesium with lower intakes of saturated fat and total fat. If you think this is crazy, imagine how many more benefits your body will get if you eat other fruits and vegetables!