Los Olivos has partnered with the Don B. Huntley College of Agriculture to serve produce that is grown on campus.
“Using fruits and vegetables grown at Cal Poly Pomona is extremely important,” says Arnold Zavalza, executive chef at Los Olivos. “It’s not only important to utilize local- and student-grown produce, but to utilize campus grounds as a food resource and to minimize our carbon footprint.”
The initiative began in 2014 when Los Olivos partnered with the John T. Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies to produce meals for special events using seasonal fruits and vegetables grown at the center. This evolved into another idea: use produce grown on campus for the campus dining hall. This resulted in a new collaboration with the Huntley College of Agriculture, the Food Justice Club and Green Team.
The university has joined the Real Food Challenge campaign, which is working toward a more sustainable food system. The goal is to incorporate 20 percent of local, community-based, ecologically sound and humane food sources by 2020.