SDG 2: Zero Hunger
End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture
Key Facts
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Institutional Stewardship Initiatives
Culinary Services provides a supplemental meal program as a short-term solution and part of a campus-wide effort to connect students to sustainable food security solutions. Upon requesting this option, the plan is activated on the requestor's student card for the next regular business day. Three meal swipes are loaded onto the card and can be used at Marquis Culinary Centre over the next 3 days. Student Affairs and Outreach and Student Life will then contact the student and offer to meet to further discuss any barriers for them as a student. In addition, a long standing program is administered at the University of Saskatchewan Student's Union (USSU) Food Centre, which includes providing regular accessibility to emergency food hampers and access to a weekly fresh food market. There is also a fund set up allowing student support staff to give students in distress a gift card to a large local grocery store (Sobey's).
Culinary Services provides a supplemental meal program as a one-time short-term solution and part of a campus-wide effort to connect students to sustainable food security solutions. Upon requesting this option, the plan is activated on the requestor's student card for the next regular business day. Three meal swipes are loaded onto the card and can be used at Marquis Culinary Centre over the next 3 days. Student Affairs and Outreach and Student Life will then contact the student and offer to meet to further discuss any barriers for them as a student.
The University of Saskatchewan Student's Union (USSU) Food Centre was established in conjunction with the Saskatoon Food Bank to combat food hunger and insecurity on campus. Provided programs and services include regular accessibility to emergency food hampers and access to a weekly fresh food market. There is also a fund set up allowing student support staff to give students in distress a gift card to a large local grocery store (Sobey's). Additional resources are available including food insecurity resources such as the supplemental meal swipe program provided by Culinary Services. This is a short-term solution and upon requesting this option, the plan is activated on the requestor's student card for the next regular business day. Three meal swipes are loaded onto the card and can be used at Culinary Centre over the next 3 days. Student Affairs and Outreach and Student Life will then contact the student and offer to meet to further discuss barriers.
The USSU hosts uFood which is a customizable emergency food hamper program. Their pantry is stocked with pasta, soup, baby items, and condiments that students can choose from to create an emergency hamper that suits their needs. This service is available exclusively to USask students. Students can access uFood four times per term. USask Culinary Services donates meal cards to the USSU Emergency food hamper program for students in need. By having access to a meal plan card, these students can access wholesome meals in the dining hall without any visibility that might cause them to experience stigma associated with accessing a food bank program. CHEP Good Food Box is a local food security program also hosted by the USSU. The Good Food Box provides top-quality, fresh, nutritious food at an affordable price.
Marquis Culinary Centre (MCC) and other buffeterias serve students, faculty, staff, and the public and have vegan and vegetarian options available daily. Seeds, nuts, and beans are available at the salad bar together with quality plant-based fats including olives, olive oils, and local cold-pressed camelina oil. The past and sandwich bars also have a variety of vegan ingredients available. Vegetarian hot dishes that include legumes, soy, or whole grains are available and change daily. MCC also sources leafy greens and vegetables from the College of Agriculture and Bioresources Rooftop Garden. This garden is an urban agriculture demonstration project run by the student horticulture club. Fresh herbs are also grown in the kitchen and outdoors. Vegetables and fruits are purchased from a student organized horticulture club. As of the university's 2023 STARS submission, 32.39% of MCC's total annual food and beverage expenditures are on plant-based foods.
USask’s Culinary Services maintain a commitment to prioritize local and sustainable food purchasing and track the proportion of food services inventory sourced from local and sustainable partners. They have identified several local producers as primary suppliers for specific food items. New local food items are included as opportunities present themselves. USask's Marquis Culinary Center also sources produce from the College of Agriculture and Bioresources roof-top garden, an urban agriculture demonstration project. Fresh herbs are grown in the kitchen and outdoors. Vegetables and fruits are also purchased from a student organized horticulture club that is operated out of a Horticulture field facility.
USask Culinary Services works with nutrition professionals to create menus that meet nutritional guidelines with fresh produce available at every meal. Pricing and student affordability is factored in and they run a survey among students every year to assess how they can best meet the needs of students. This applies to food outlets controlled by USask including Marquis, the main cafeteria, and the Arts and Agriculture Buffeterias. Even the customizable emergency food hamper program is focused on meeting the dietary needs of the students.
Research Institutes, Centres, & Projects
USask’s premier example of this is our Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS). GIFS is committed to advancing food security by developing and delivering technologies/tools that enhance the food production system and that are environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable. A primary goal for GIFS is to transfer technologies to organizations and farmers at the local, national, and international level so they can grow their economies and eventually replace subsistence-level poverty with economic cycles catalyzed by better nutrition and health.
The University of Saskatchewan’s Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence is a world-class complex of field and science laboratories that brings together under one roof every link of the livestock production chain. Modelling all aspects of raising livestock on the Canadian Prairies, it is a powerhouse for innovative research, teaching and industry engagement. Its reach goes far beyond the Canadian Prairies. Building on a strong network of partnerships, researchers strive to improve livestock production across Canada and around the globe. The LFCE encompasses everything from forage development, grazing management and environmental sustainability to cattle reproduction, cow-calf management and feedlot health, growth and productivity. In addition to beef cattle research and education, the LFCE is a centre for bison reproductive work, vaccine development and disease control, and nutrition.
The LFCE engages in extensive outreach to local producers by offering a great deal of publicly available events, such as field days, community and industry events, information sessions, knowledge dissemination, and integrated partnerships in research.
The University of Saskatchewan Fruit Program regularly publishes free educational content, including detailed research articles and grower guides for dozens of fruit species, as well as delivering regular events and programming for local growers.
USask also maintains a “Gardening at USask” initiative, through which small local producers, along with amateurs and beginners can access free or low-cost educational courses, webinars, and events aimed at teaching sustainable gardening and agriculture practices. The website is regularly updated with free content publicly accessible. Local producers can reach out for free personalized advice from agriculture academics.
Research Impact
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Sample Courses
This course will introduce students to issues of global food security. Examples taken from the origins of agriculture to modern practices are used to illustrate themes, including sustainable agriculture, food quality and quantity, plant and animal breeding, genetically modified organisms, and productivity improvement. An overview of the food distribution system, the impact of malnourishment and chronic poverty are also presented.
Global food shortages have led to malnutrition and death, particularly amongst children in less-developed regions of the world. Although many experts believe that potential global food production exceeds demand, current information suggests that significant food losses occur before harvest and during food processing, distribution, storage, and consumption. Food security will be examined from the perspectives of the pre- and post-farm gate food supply chain. The perspectives include four major areas of the food system: 1) global food quality and safety, 2) post-harvest food processing, 3) reducing food loss and waste, and 4) improving nutrition through food science and technology.
A seminar course that explores the contribution that interdisciplinary theory and research make toward understanding international issues, particularly international development. Topics will include theoretical conceptualization of development, democracy, globalization, and gender. As well, it will engage with debates around issues such as climate change, global inequalities, food security, and the role of civil society groups in development.
This course introduces students to the basics of producing fruits and vegetables in an urban setting including environmental and social challenges. Students will learn how the urban food production movement has influenced urban design and utilization of land within urban settings. Students will learn about a wide range of strategies for increasing urban food production such as community gardens, school programs, rooftop gardening, hobby greenhouse production and more. Students will develop their own proposals to increase urban agriculture. Students will also learn about management practices such as composting, organic production, integrated pest management, environment modification, soil management. Post-harvest practices such as canning, freezing, drying, and food safety will be discussed.
For a full listing of related courses, please visit the Office of Sustainability's sustainablity course inventory.