Leading the Way in Sustainability
Sustainability, Gardens, From Here. From Near.
EARTHDAY.ORG chose Restore Our Earth™ as the theme for Earth Day 2021, and at SAGE, we focus every day on doing what’s best for the environment and the communities we serve. Our commitment to sustainability means partnering with clients to make environmentally responsible choices and developing innovative solutions that have a positive impact on people and the planet. During the pandemic, packaging food has been necessary at times for safety reasons, but we’ve limited our use of single-use disposable...
Growing SAGE: Campus Garden at River Oaks Baptist School
Gardens, SAGE Community, One-on-One, Featured Venue
Spring has sprung! At many SAGE venues, we’re getting our campus gardens ready for planting. 70% of the communities we serve have a type of garden – from small herb boxes to small farms – and we enthusiastically harvest from them for our recipes. We know how important it is for young people to be exposed to gardening. Research shows that gardening experiences from childhood through young adulthood affect the amount of fruits and vegetables that young people eat. So...
A Commitment to Sustainability
Sustainability, Gardens, From Here. From Near., Locally Sourced
At SAGE Dining Services®, our commitment to sustainability is visible in our efforts to use safe, local, and organic products whenever possible; to minimize waste; and to educate others about sustainable practices. We create custom menus for each venue to showcase the products and flavors of each community, which often requires local sourcing and local skill. We develop partnerships with local suppliers to increase the use of seasonal products, support sustainable local farming initiatives, and reduce fossil fuel emissions. In...
SAGE Defines the Food Service Standard
Sustainability, Gardens, From Here. From Near., SAGE Standards
The SAGE Standards are the guiding principles to which we adhere. They’re our promise to our campus communities—fresh, wholesome, made-from-scratch food that pleases a variety of palates and meets a variety of dietary needs. We feel good knowing that our Standards support the health of our communities, their environments, and their local economies. We’ll touch upon these Standards in a series of upcoming posts. SAGE Standard #1: “We cook from scratch, using local and campus-grown ingredients where possible.”...
Growing SAGE: McDonogh Roots Farm
Gardens, From Here. From Near., SAGE Community, Growing SAGE
We’re celebrating Earth Day with a “Growing SAGE” post. Nearly 80% of our schools have gardens, so there's plenty of ground to cover! We'll begin with McDonogh Roots Farm, a thriving farm on the McDonogh School campus in Owings Mills, Maryland. Providing fresh potatoes, zucchini, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, and herbs for SAGE's dining service at the school is just one aspect of this farm's mission. The farm was also created to donate food to those in need and to teach...
Eat What You Can, Can What You Can't
Nutrition, Sustainability, From Our Kitchen, Gardens
Canning fruits and vegetables has made a big comeback. Sales of home canning equipment have surged since 2008, in large part due to a growing interest in eating more healthfully and reviving traditions from a simpler time. Late summer is a great time to take advantage of the bounty of your home garden or your local farmer's market and create some treats that will last through the winter. Canning has become so popular Ball canning jars has partnered with Canning...
5 Rules for Picking Summer Produce
Nutrition, Sustainability, From Our Kitchen, GardensHave you ever bought produce only to find it's too ripe, or not ripe enough? It can be challenging to choose perfect produce every time. We've put together five simple rules to guide your purchases this summer: Trust your sense of smell. The scent of some produce can help determine whether it's ripe. Fruit should smell fragrant, particularly melons, berries and stone fruits like plums, peaches and nectarines. Handle with care. Ripe fruits like plums should yield to gentle pressure...
Celebrating Mother Earth
Sustainability, From Our Kitchen, GardensToday is the perfect time to go outside and marvel at nature and the beauty that surrounds us. It's Earth Day! Earth Day may be a relatively new holiday, but it has a lot of influence. The first Earth Day was celebrated in the U.S. in 1970; later that year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was founded as a direct consequence. Today, Earth Day is a global initiative, bringing together millions of people worldwide. So as you step outside...
About Us
At SAGE Dining Services®, our unparalleled expertise in nutrition, sustainability, and culinary trends produces exceptional dining experiences that delight the senses, inspire minds, and foster community.
