Real Food Challenge

Real Food Challenge

Food and Beverage Services

Student Power - Sustainable Procurement

About us

Real Food Challenge (RFC) is a national, student-driven campaign to reshape our food economy. We are a worker self-directed nonprofit working with a network of students and youth at schools across the country, advocating for "real food" on our campuses and in our communities. We successfully shifted over $80 million in our 20% by 2020 commitment campaign. Just as when we started in 2007, we believe universities and the students that populate them can be inspiring drivers of positive change in food systems. Recognizing the complexity of food systems activism, we stand in solidarity with food sovereignty organizations across all levels of the movement, emphasizing regional supply chain justice as our primary focus. We envision universities as anchors for re-regionalizing value chains, sourcing food from diverse, organic, and BIPOC producers reflective of their respective regions. At the core of our approach lies the conversion of student mobilization into tangible outcomes, guided by the Real Food Standards and measured through the Real Food Calculator. This data-driven advocacy tool holds universities accountable and empowers students to influence policy changes toward a more equitable and sustainable food system. Our Real Food Standards have been updated and version 3.0 are aligned with our Anchors In Action partners: the Center for Good Food Purchasing, and Healcare Without Harm. We seek to collectively raise the bar for institutions, distributors, and food servicers. We are reinvigorating our work and welcome students from any campus, partners from all realms of food system and food justice work, and any alum to join us! Real Food Now!

Industry
Food and Beverage Services
Company size
2-10 employees
Type
Nonprofit

Employees at Real Food Challenge

Updates

  • View organization page for Real Food Challenge, graphic

    735 followers

    This Saturday!

    View organization page for Real Food Challenge, graphic

    735 followers

    We are excited to invite university students to join Real Food Challenge Directors for a casual discussion of RFC work in food systems on campuses.    Organizing and Procurement Directors will host a Q & A and share internship opportunities. Our goal for the meet up is to spread awareness of what working with us looks like, to connect students across campuses working in the food system realm, and to have space for networking! We will be at Studio X in Garden Grove and there will be food vendors downstairs. Come connect with Real Food Challenge and be able to talk about internships in real time! Come to connect to other students in your region, scheme about collaborations and how to empower a vibrant university food system across Southern California!

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  • View organization page for Real Food Challenge, graphic

    735 followers

    This Friday! We invite you to join us for an exciting webinar to learn about mission-driven programs on college campuses nationwide! A wide range of organizations will share lightning talks about what they do and how you can get involved. You won’t want to miss this chance to build community and understand the full landscape of opportunity on your campus when it comes to making a difference through your university’s dining program. Organizations include: Plant Futures, Menus of Change University Research Collaborative Student Fellows Program, Better Food Foundation, Real Food Challenge, New Roots Institute, The Good Food Institute, and Food 4 Thought Innovations. 📍 October 18th, 2024, 10:00AM - 11:00AM PT / 1:00PM - 2:00PM ET Zoom Registration Link: https://lnkd.in/dcWG5ytM Final Line-Up: https://lnkd.in/d8kupW7k

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  • View organization page for Real Food Challenge, graphic

    735 followers

    Our Procurement Director Amanda Chu will be at the CORE Summit, and it looks to be a great time to learn about the amazing work happening in San Diego. There is still time to register if you can make it!

    Join us on Oct 23 and 24 for CORE Summit 2024, “Leveraging AI for Sustainable Food Systems.” Day 1 includes a reception and keynote with former USDA Acting Chief Scientist Dr. Shefali Mehta. Day 2 includes interactive workshops on topics including short-chain logistics, climate crop risks, and food waste innovations. Students can also learn about participating in the Summit’s Design Challenge with the VINE. Register here: https://ow.ly/tJ9r50TzCng

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  • View organization page for Real Food Challenge, graphic

    735 followers

    Students across Southern California are invited to join our Organizing and Procurement Directors for a semi-casual space for: - conversation about Real Food Challenge programming, internships, and 3.0 standards - networking , collaboration, and co-learning with students across different campuses - Q & A related to university food systems, organizing, nonprofit work, etc RSVP with the link in the event.

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  • View organization page for Real Food Challenge, graphic

    735 followers

    We are excited to be a part of this speed talk next Friday! It will be a great place for students to connect to organizations working on campus dining. Join us!! Making an Impact with University Dining: Ways for Students to Get Involved October 18, 2024 10:00AM - 11:00AM PT / 1:00PM - 2:00PM ET We invite you to join us for an exciting webinar to learn about mission-driven programs on college campuses nationwide. A wide range of organizations will share lightning talks about what they do and how you can get involved. You won't want to miss this chance to build community and understand the full landscape of opportunity on your campus when it comes to making a difference through your university’s dining program. Organizations include: Plant Futures, Menus of Change University Research Collaborative Student Fellows Program, Better Food Foundation, Real Food Challenge, New Roots Institute, Good Food Institute, and Food 4 Thought Innovations.

    We invite you to join us for an exciting webinar to learn about mission-driven programs on college campuses nationwide! A wide range of organizations will share lightning talks about what they do and how you can get involved. You won’t want to miss this chance to build community and understand the full landscape of opportunity on your campus when it comes to making a difference through your university’s dining program. Organizations include: Plant Futures, Menus of Change University Research Collaborative Student Fellows Program, Better Food Foundation, Real Food Challenge, New Roots Institute, The Good Food Institute, and Food 4 Thought Innovations. 📍 October 18th, 2024, 10:00AM - 11:00AM PT / 1:00PM - 2:00PM ET Zoom Registration Link: https://lnkd.in/dcWG5ytM Final Line-Up: https://lnkd.in/d8kupW7k

    • No alternative text description for this image
  • View organization page for Real Food Challenge, graphic

    735 followers

    We are excited to invite university students to join Real Food Challenge Directors for a casual discussion of RFC work in food systems on campuses.    Organizing and Procurement Directors will host a Q & A and share internship opportunities. Our goal for the meet up is to spread awareness of what working with us looks like, to connect students across campuses working in the food system realm, and to have space for networking! We will be at Studio X in Garden Grove and there will be food vendors downstairs. Come connect with Real Food Challenge and be able to talk about internships in real time! Come to connect to other students in your region, scheme about collaborations and how to empower a vibrant university food system across Southern California!

    • No alternative text description for this image
  • View organization page for Real Food Challenge, graphic

    735 followers

    We are grateful to have been a part of Phase 1 of this project, and inspired by the work being done to increase sustainable food across the UCs! So exciting to be finding ways to support student positions in these efforts.

    View profile for Tim Galarneau, graphic

    Advancing Agroecological and Community Driven Initiatives

    What a generative Phase 1 convening for our UC Wide Sustainable Food Service and Sourcing Project held at the Center for Agroecology these past few days. The project brought together UC Campus and Health Centers Dining Directors, Chefs, Sustainability Staff, and Procurement Staff with systemwide leadership and our incredible Technical Assistance Team weaving in the USDA Southwest Regional Food Business Center (SWRFBC), Community Alliance with Family Farmers, Real Food Challenge/Anchors In Action, Shared Plate Strategies, & SupplyChange. The ability to map oppportunities, gaps, and pilot to scale efforts was further elevated with additional guest presenters including Roots Of Change lifting grassfed beef/meat and eco-system responsive cattle ranching in the west as well as the Alice Waters Institute and their healthy and sustainable K-higher ed school food project efforts. Our campus catering team included small scale and regional sustainable procuders and fisherfolx (shot out to Real Food Fish!) across lunches and a field to table dinner at the UCSC Farm. After two days on the UCSC Farm and HayBarn we took the group to visit veteran organic regional farmer Dick Peixoto at Lakeside Organics with their cooling and aggregation facility to the Agriculture Land Based Training Association (ALBA) farming program graduate and shero Bertha Magaña on her 9 acre farm outside of San Miguel to better engage the spectrum of underserved and beginning farmer to scaled farming enterprises and how institutions like the UC can better serve our smaller scale first gen, women owned, tribal, and undereserved producers and vendors as we build a more sustainable and equitable values based food supply chain! More to come as we wrap up Phase I and move into the next year of our collective efforts! https://lnkd.in/gXk7qNgy

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