June/July 2026 Newsbrief
General Collaborative Updates
It has been a busy couple of months for MCURC!
In early June, we had the opportunity to reconnect in person with some members at the Menus of Change Leadership Summit. MCURC was well represented through several projects. The Repurpose with a Purpose project—a collaboration between the MCURC Executive Chefs Committee and ReFED focused on reducing food waste through culinary creativity—was featured during the panel discussion The New Era of Dining: The Portion Revolution and Emerging Fast Casual Trends. The Summit also highlighted the 2026 Repurpose Solutions Competition, which challenged chefs from around the world to create innovative uses for surplus ingredients.
Some of the amazing submissions received in the 2026 Repurposed Solutions Competition.
Congratulations to this year's winners: Chef John Miller from CEC, CCA, Compass Group (Grand Prize Winner), Chef Noah Belcher from The Culinary Institute of America (Culinary Merit Award), the Sodexo South Africa Team (Innovation Award), MCURC Chef Paloma Ponce from Universidad Anáhuac Mayab (Impact Award), and Chef Chris Schaefer from Guckenheimer at Google (Special Mention). And check out the new report published by one of the competition judges, Caitlin Bolin (Adjunct Faculty, The Culinary Institute of America): The Zero Waste Beverage Solutions Report.
Dr. Jackie Bertoldo presents the MCURC Business Case for Plant-Forward Procurement study
At Menus of Change, our student fellows, Anaiya Naroola (UC Davis), Dorian Lazzara (Marist University), Janani Venkataramanan (NYU), and Mikaela Yee(UC Davis), presented the work they conducted this year on the Protein Mix Project, which compares the cost, environmental impact, and nutritional value of various plant-based and animal protein sources. Now entering its third phase, we look forward to sharing more project updates soon.
The Summit also showcased findings from the MCURC Business Case for Plant-Forward Procurement study. Presented by CIA Research Advisor Dr. Jackie Bertoldo, the research demonstrated that 33 colleges and universities reduced food-related greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 19% while lowering food costs by at least 10%, generating an estimated $22 million in annual savings. These findings were also shared during our June webinar. Read the executive summary here–and be sure to share both the publication and the recording with colleagues across the industry.
We held two Research & Education Working Group meetings. We presented two multi-site project ideas: Taste of Connection led by Gretchen Kurtz at Colorado State University, which explores how a student-informed cultural dining hall meal can shape students’ sense of connection and belonging on campus, and From Tropical Agro-Biodiversity to Campus Dining, a project led by Andrés Méndez at Universidad Anáhuac Mayab examining how regional biodiversity can be integrated into campus food systems. We welcomed colleagues from the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health for a discussion connected to the JHU Sustainability Symposium, sharing perspectives on sustainability, public health, and dining operations. In addition, Dr. Rachel Gibson from King's College London delivered a presentation on SPIN (Sustainable Protein through Insect Nutrition).
We hosted an Insights Exchange on Best Practices for Marketing and Communication. Edwina Hughes from the World Resources Institute shared examples of how foodservice operators are successfully promoting plant-rich menu offerings, and Gesina Beckert and Veronica Stone fromBITE: Building Impact Through Eaters presented research on who eaters trust when making food decisions and what that means for institutional communications. Thank you to everyone who joined the discussion. If you missed it, the recording is available on our YouTube channel.
Welcome to Our New Members
Join us in welcoming our newest member, Indiana University, along with four new Network Partners: Teaching Kitchen Collaborative, TUCO, The Sustainable Restaurant Association, and AASHE (the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education).
The MCURC Network Partner opportunity is open to membership organizations, coalitions, collaboratives, and other networks actively engaged in mission-aligned work to the MCURC. Network Partners bring relevant experience, tools, research, and educational initiatives that can cross-pollinate with MCURC efforts for mutual benefit.
MCURC Members Corner
Congratulations to the MCURC member institutions recognized in the 2026 NACUFS Awards! Selected from nearly 300 submissions, these awards celebrate excellence and innovation in collegiate dining.
We are proud to celebrate this year's MCURC member awardees, including Arizona State University, Boston University, Central Washington University, Harvard University, Michigan State University, North Carolina State University, Princeton University, University of California, Riverside, University of Montana, and The University of Texas at Austin. Their accomplishments across catering, residential dining, outreach and education, innovation, and campus facilities reflect the creativity, leadership, and commitment to advancing healthier, more sustainable campus dining.
Congratulations to all of this year's winners, and best of luck to the Grand Prize finalists, who will be recognized at the NACUFS National Conference in New Orleans this month.
Discover other MCURC member stories featured on our website’s “Media Coverage & Publications” section!
Sponsor Insights
Leanpath just released A Guide to Reducing Food Waste at Catered Events, a new free e-book to address the common blind spot of food waste at events. When food is distributed and doesn’t return to the kitchen where it is usually tracked, chefs and operators don't have visibility into what and how much food was wasted. In a recent case study, the U.S. Food Waste Pact found 42% of food at buffets went uneaten. The study concluded that without consistent metrics, event planners rely on assumptions and anecdotal experience — making it hard to forecast, benchmark, or measure progress. Leanpath's new e-book explains how to easily gather food waste data and use it across planning, prep, and post-event to make operations more profitable and more sustainable. The guide accompanies Leanpath's latest product innovation — Snap AI — the foodservice industry's first mobile food waste tracker specifically designed for events.
The National Peanut Board, in collaboration with the UMass Dining team, has developed a free Campus Dining Guide to support colleges and universities in evaluating opportunities to incorporate peanuts into campus dining programs. The resource shares practical strategies for menu innovation, allergen management and student engagement, while providing a framework for balancing food inclusion, student choice, nutrition and operational considerations across residential dining, retail, catering and campus events. Download the free guide.
Research Collaborators
Bite: Building Impact Through Eaters
Campus dining leaders: Join Beans Can — BITE's 2-week nationwide campaign bringing craveable, bean-forward dishes to campus dining. The results speak for themselves: previous sites saw a 13% increase in bean dish sales, with guest satisfaction holding steady. Four MCURC members are already in for this October.
Already have beans on the menu? We'll help you promote them. Not yet menuing beans? We'll help with recipe ideas. You'll get free marketing materials, menu inspiration, and hands-on support from our team — plus a personalized Impact Report, with campaign-wide and site-specific metrics on sales, cost savings and carbon reduction.
Next up? Sign uphere for the Beans Can info call on July 27th at 10am PT / 1pm ET. For additional questions, check out ourone-pager or reach out directly to Ting Ting at BITE, tingting@wearebite.org.
We are so excited to celebrate beans with you!
A new report commissioned by ProVeg International finds that shifting public food procurement toward more plant-forward menus could generate significant cost savings while delivering environmental and public health benefits across the European Union. The study highlights the potential of schools, hospitals, universities, and other public institutions to drive positive food system change through procurement practices. Discover more here.
Opportunities from MCURC Partners
2026 Teaching Kitchen Research Conference September 23-24, 2026 | Boston
The Teaching Kitchen Research Conference (TKRC) returns in 2026! Building on the success of TKRC 2022, where hundreds of researchers, educators, healthcare leaders, and culinary innovators came together to advance the science and practice of teaching kitchens, the 2026 conference will once again highlight groundbreaking research, collaboration, and strategies to transform health through experiential culinary and lifestyle education. More information here.
Executive Chefs Spotlight
Watercress Pesto
This month, we’re featuring a fresh and original recipe from our Diet Diversity multi-site project, which encourages the use of a wider variety of biodiverse ingredients in campus dining. At the University of Michigan, chefs reimagined traditional basil pesto by using watercress instead, one of the 50 Future Foods. The result has been really successful, with an average increase of 73.7% in per-diner take rate compared to the basil watercress, and an increase in nutritional benefits. Explore the recipe here, and stay tuned for project findings and results coming soon!
MCURC Engagement Calendar
A new MCURC engagement calendar for the 2026-2027 Academic year will be sent out later this month. Keep an eye out and don’t miss any of our events.
Upcoming Webinar: The 2026 Plant-Forward Opportunity Report
What does "good value" really mean when it comes to plant-forward menu items? New research from BITE: Building Impact Through Eaters, the Culinary Institute of America, Datassential, and the Menus of Change University Research Collaborative suggests it's about far more than price. While many consumers expect plant-forward dishes to cost less than meat-based options, they're even more motivated by high-quality ingredients, hearty portions, and craveable flavors—with value meals and combo meals emerging as one of the strongest drivers of purchase intent. Dive into the 2026 Plant-Forward Opportunity Report: New Consumer Perspectives on Value to explore what these findings mean for restaurants and foodservice operations looking to grow plant-forward sales in today's economy.
Thursday, July 23, 10am PT/ 1pm ET / 6pm UK
Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_3r-qNFi8Q_6F52WQgZOLoQ
All-Member Annual Meeting
Registration is open for the MCURC Annual 2026 In-Person Meeting! October 6-7, 2026 with a pre-meeting tour October 5 | MCURC Annual All-Member Meeting | University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
We invite you to review the early draft of the 2026 MCURC All-Member Meeting program and consider how you and your team can get involved. There are several opportunities for participation, including the following sessions: Collective Impact in Action, Bringing the Menus of Change Principles to Life, Planning MCURC Day, and Looking to the Future: Preparing the Next Generation of Campus Dining session.Please contact Valentina Córdoba at valentina.cordoba@culinary.edu if you are interested in any of these opportunities.
Early Bird: $395 (June 24 – July 14)
Advanced Rate: $450 (July 15 – August 17)
Final Rate: $500 (after August 17, until capacity is reached)