Moore College Plants Herb Garden for Cafeteria & Sustainability

I’m so proud of Moore College of Art & Design’s continued sustainability initiatives!  One of their most recent endeavors was to plant a herb garden to produce fresh ingredients that will be built into their SAGE Dining Services menu.

SAGE Food Service Director Anthony Condo and Executive Chef John Starett recycled an old salad bar cart to use as an incubator to plant cilantro, dill, basil, lavender, parsley, oregano and chives during spring break in March.  Once the weather became warm, the cart was moved outside – and they’re hoping to expand to plant tomatoes, cucumbers and other items soon.

Victoria May, a senior graphic design student, won the Fred Acker Achievement Award in Graphic Design for her senior thesis, which included the cart design.  She created an “identity” for the herb cart through banners, a logo and vinyl on the sides of the cart and handed out seeds to students.

“I want to bring attention to the project and help show how Moore’s dining services are making an effort to be green and healthy,” she said. “This project is a good opportunity to do something positive for the school and see my work being used.”

Moore isn’t new to green themes:  they launched an Environmental Task Force in 2005, implemented reusable dinnerware and sustainable practices for the cafeteria, and offers students food grown by local farmers through SAGE’s “From Here, From Near” program, even naming farms and ingredients on menu cards.  Additionally, they have a student-run Art and Book Supply Swap, a campus wide recycling program for plastics, paper, bottles and cans and required training for all new students and faculty on the use of and disposal of art and design materials. Their fashions often incorporate green designs.

Posted by Julie

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Julie Hancher is Editor-in-Chief of Green Philly, sharing her expertise of all things sustainable in the city of brotherly love. She enjoys long walks in the park with local beer and greening her travels, cooking & cat, Sir Floofus Drake. View all posts by Julie Hancher