Last spring, Augsburg administration began asking students, faculty, and staff for their input on dining options on campus. They wanted more options and extended hours, particularly service for students attending class in the evenings and on the weekends.

At the same time, Steve West, A’viands’ vice president for education and business dining, had attended a conference where he talked with Einstein’s representatives. “In higher ed, you’re always looking to make things new so it’s not the same thing year after year,” West said. He was impressed with Einstein’s growth, ability to provide meals throughout the entire day, and their quality.

Remodeling and training began in the summer and was completed in early August. The grand opening will be Wednesday, Sept. 7. Einstein’s will also offer catering for on-campus events and meetings later in the fall semester.

Einstein’s offers breakfast, lunch, smoothies, coffee, snacks, and dinner. West said it will serve as an alternative where people can get a made-to-order salad, sandwich, wrap, or something from the grab & go case. “I think it’s a good value and a healthy option, and it fits all the needs of the Augsburg students.” West wants the campus community to know that this addition is A’viands operating as Einstein’s, so the quality and level of service will be on par with other Augsburg dining facilities.

Another change which will be important, especially to students not on a meal plan, is the removal of the A-Club Grille in the lower level of Christensen. Eventually this space will be home to the Office of Admissions. Some popular items from the Grille, including French fries, burgers, and chicken strips, will be available in Nabo in Oren Gateway Center.

This is A’viands’ first venture into working with a national franchise on a college campus. So far, West said he has been pleased with the company’s standards and training program, and he is looking forward to seeing how Einstein’s will be received at Augsburg.

Hours of service:

Monday – Thursday 7:30 a.m. – 9 p.m.

Friday 7:30 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Sunday closed (see below)

Saturday Grab & Go 7:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Weekend College Sunday Grab & Go 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

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Chris Policinski, President and CEO of Land O’Lakes, will speak to the Augsburg College about American agriculture and how it serves our country and the world. Policinski’s presentation is titled, “The Great Productivity Story of American Agriculture and Why It Must Continue.” The lecture will be held Thursday, April 1 at 5 p.m. in Kennedy Center, room 303.

Outside the Twin Cities in greater Minnesota, one out of every three jobs is linked to agriculture. Food and agriculture production accounted for 22% of our total exports in 2008, and these exports bring $12 billion or more into our economy every year. And agribusiness purchases many of its supplies locally, benefiting businesses throughout the state. According to the U of M extension service, more than any other industry, Minnesota agribusiness is closely linked with other Minnesota supplies. So when agriculture is strong in Minnesota, we all benefit.

The richness of our agriculture has made Minnesota home to many of the largest multi-national agribusinesses in the world. These leading companies do business around the world, in developed countries with strong farm industries and in emerging countries that struggle to produce enough food to feed their people. Our featured Strommen Executive Leader Series speaker leads one of those flagship businesses. Chris Policinski is president and CEO of Land O’ Lakes, Inc., a privately owned food and agriculture inputs company which does business in the U.S. and more than 50 countries and has sales of over $12 billion.

Policinski has over 30 years of experience in the food industry and joined Land O’Lakes in 1997 as its Vice President of Strategy and Business Development. He later became the Chief Operating Officer of the Dairy Foods business unit and was appointed President and CEO in 2005. Prior to joining Land O’Lakes, Policinski held leadership positions with Kraft General Foods, Bristol Meyers Squib, and The Pillsbury Company.

He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Grocery Manufacturers Association, the National Milk Producers Federation, the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign, Excel Energy, the Greater Twin Cities United Way, and the Carlson School of Management Board of Overseers.

Policinski earned his MBA degree from New York University and his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame.

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What happens when you combine 50 first-year students, five professors, a gigantic problem, and no traditional grades? In the case of Augsburg’s Integrated Term, you get a pretty interesting story.

Here’s a quick primer on the iTerm.

For the students in the iTerm and the five faculty members teaching it—Phil Adamo, Lars Christiansen, Robert Cowgill, Lori Brandt Hale and Colin Irvine—this is their entire load of courses for the semester. The focus of the iTerm is on the Fate of the Earth: Food, Fuel and Consumption.

Students who complete the term will receive credit for either English 101 or English 111 (writing), Religion 100 (Christian Vocation and the Search for Meaning I), History 101 (Western Civilization), Sociology 121 (Intro to Human Society) and AugSem. They will also complete their Engaging Minneapolis requirement.

What the students won’t receive, however, is a traditional letter grade for the term. Instead, they will receive written evaluations from each of the faculty members teaching the class.

One of the goals is to get students out of the routine of simply working for a grade. Many students learn how to get a good grade rather than learning how to learn. The hope is that this term changes some of that.

“The hope is that students will develop a different attitude toward learning, and even some ability to evaluate their own work,” Adamo said. “Hopefully they get to a point where they say, ‘Wow, I get it.’ And then going into the second semester, they don’t retract back like a big rubber band. When you say no grades, students’ eyes light up. But no grades does not mean no evaluation.”

Because of the unique nature of the program, a reporter from the Minneapolis Star Tribune visited the Augsburg campus and the class several times this month. On Saturday, the story, entitled, “Learning for the sake of learning,” was published.

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This semester, students in SBS 100: Environmental Connections have studied how food fits into both our socio-economic and ecological systems. This Wednesday, they will put that knowledge into action as the class members will serve a meal that they helped the A’viands staff prepare. The entire Augsburg community is invited to share this “grub” with the class. The menu was chosen based on how the food was produced and transported.

Some of the ingredients were grown on campus. Almost all of the items were produced locally. Special consideration was placed on supporting suppliers that use environmentally friendly practices and pay employees a fair wage.

The meal–which is part of the final exam for the students–is meant to inform members of the Augsburg community about the environmental and social impact of the food we eat.

The course syllabus spells out rather simply the goals of the class: This year our focus is on food–what we eat, where it comes from, and the effects of food production and consumption on bodily, community, and planetary health.

To reach that point, students in Environmental Connections, the introductory course to Augsburg’s new environmental studies major, have learned about the history, economics, sociology, math, and science behind food and food production. They planted seeds in Augsburg’s greenhouse and are harvesting the fruits of their labors on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning prior to the lunch. The class also visited local farmers markets and co-ops.

Richmond Appleton, a senior environmental studies major and Peter Klink [pictured left], a first-year studying marketing and environmental studies, said the class has been enlightening. “Most of the food we eat has a huge impact on the environment, like just one cup of coffee,” Appleton said. The class visited the Peace Coffee Company in Minneapolis to learn about the impact of coffee and the company’s efforts to promote sustainability and fair/free trade. Peace Coffee delivers all coffee within 20 miles of its South Minneapolis location by bike and delivers the remainder in a van powered by biodiesel. All employees receive a fair wage and are able to travel to the countries where their coffee is grown and produced in order to learn firsthand about its production.

Appleton and Klink also said the class was surprised to learn that more than 60 percent of the carbon found in our hair comes from corn. This is due to the preponderance of corn additives, particularly the ubiquitous high fructose corn syrup, found in our food. (http://asap.sustainability.uiuc.edu/)

The class, which is being co-taught by Michael Lansing (history) and Joe Underhill (political science), has featured guest lectures from professors across campus. For example, John Zobitz, an assistant professor of mathematics, talked about the carbon cost of food. “Determining ‘how far’ food travels from farm to plate is a challenge to quantify because of the many different ways food can be transported and processed,” Zobitz said.

Prior to Zobitz’ lecture, students analyzed their diet for a week and determined what proportion came from particular food groups. They then calculated the average distance their food traveled based on a recent published study. Students also determined the carbon footprint (or total emissions) for their food choices and discussed how different diet choices affect the emissions output of food and how to quantify a local diet.

The course also focused on food justice issues such as “food deserts” and out-of-balance food environments. In neighborhoods without grocery stores where most readily available food comes from fast food restaurants and convenience stores, residents are unable to make healthy choices. One study conducted by the Mari Galagher Research & Consulting Group in Chicago found that in these areas residents are more likely to die prematurely and at greater rates from diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases and to suffer from obesity and hypertension.

Students have also spent a lot of time in class talking about changing habits. “Changing what you eat is hard when you are a student,” Klink said. “We’ve struggled with how to do that,” Klink said, “because making one change hurts others. For example, if we all quit eating meat, people in the meat industry lose jobs.”

Wednesday’s menu (some items subject to change)

• Radish soup
• Mesclun salad with local greens & spinach
• Free range chicken
• Walleye chowder
• Shepherd’s pie with winter vegetables (kale, beets, chard, winter squash)
• Pumpkin ice cream from Izzy’s and Kemps
• Caramel apple crumble pie
• Apple cider (hot and cold) from Nesbitt’s Orchard

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Their first duty will be to shape how Augsburg explains its food needs to potential vendors. This explanation to service providers will take the form of a Request for Proposal (RFP), a document that is typically the first step in alerting contractors of an institution’s demand for services. Interested vendors will reply to the RFP, and the committee will review their responses. Once the field has been narrowed, the committee will taste-test samples from providers, visit other campuses to compare services, and interview the finalists. Taking all this information into consideration, the committee will then choose the best candidate to provide food services for Augsburg.

According to Kevin Myren, CFO and Vice President of Finance and Administration, “It appears that quite some time has passed since our current food service contract has been thoroughly evaluated — routinely evaluating this contract, as well as the provision of all services on our campus, is sound business practice.”

It is anticipated that Sodexho, Augsburg’s current food service provider, will also respond to the RFP and will be evaluated along with other possible vendors.

If you have questions about the committee or the RFP process, contact Kevin Myren at myren@augsburg.edu

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