UCO Launches Broncho Bites Food Recovery Program

Oct. 31, 2022

Media Contact: Kyla Carter, Communications and Marketing Coordinator, UCO University Communications, 405-974-2127, kcarter25@uco.edu

UCO Launches Broncho Bites Food Recovery Program

The University of Central Oklahoma recently launched, Broncho Bites, an on-campus food recovery program that reduces food waste and provides meals to the Central community. Food left over from Ayers Kitchen, Central’s main dining facility, will be repackaged and rerouted to the Broncho Bites refrigerator, located outside the Central Pantry, a partner agency of the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma. The food is available for pick up to all UCO students, faculty and staff to take on the go in compostable packaging. 

Any unclaimed meals will be taken to a compost bin provided by compost contractor, Fertile Ground, with plans to install an on-campus commercial composter in the coming year. UCO Facilities Management will use the compost from Broncho Bites to fertilize Central’s campus gardens.

Broncho Bites is funded through a $32,000 grant received from the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). A group of Central faculty and staff members, in collaboration with UCO’s dining contractor, Chartwells, created the program to provide the Central community with an alternative meal option, in a sustainable way. 

Individuals leading the group include Mark Walvoord, assistant director of Central’s Student Transformative Learning Record (STLR); Lauren Bieri, director of Photographic Services at Central; and, Susan Woods, assistant professor of human environmental sciences at Central. Woods also serves as an adviser for the Food Recovery Network, a student organization at UCO, which unites students to recover other surpluses, unsold food from campus and donate it to the community.

“We are so proud to be able to play a small part, here at UCO, in alleviating food insecurity and reducing greenhouse gas emissions through composting,” Walvoord said.

“Receiving this sustainability grant reminds us of the impact a small group of individuals can make on our campus and the larger ecosystem.” 

Since the initial launch, Central has already recovered 25 pounds of food and will continue to reduce food waste. 

Interested UCO students, faculty and staff can sign up for the program and will be notified via text or email when meals are available in the Broncho Bites refrigerator.

For more information about the program, contact the UCO Central Pantry at 405-974-3456 or centralpantry@uco.edu.

To learn more about Central’s Broncho Bites, visit go.uco.edu/bronchobites.

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Editor's Note: Download art associated with this release at https://media.uco.edu/press/uploads/2022/10/2ig2138.jpg

Cutline: The University of Central Oklahoma received a $32,000 grant from the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to fund a new food recovery program that promotes sustainable practices on campus. The program, Broncho Bites, is an on-campus initiative that will reduce food waste and provide meals to the Central community. Pictured, UCO student at the Broncho Bites refrigerator, located on Central’s campus.