UMMC Goes Green

Green Team Food Committee

The Green Team Food Committee recently signed the Healthy Food in Health Care Pledge, dedicating itself to finding ways to provide healthier food options to all UMMC patients and employees through the most environmentally effective methods. Green initiatives in the Food & Nutrition Department at the University of Maryland Medical Center are constantly evolving, and currently include the following:

Local and Organic Selections

The following organic and locally purchased food selections are now available to customers in the medical center's cafeteria:

Organic Foods

Mesclun Salad Mix
Stonyfield Farm Yogurt

Local Foods

H&S Bakery Breads
Cloverland/Greenspring Dairy Products (rBGH free)
Uptown Bakers Muffins and Pastries
Bagel Works Bagels
Hershey's Ice Cream

Java City, a coffee shop in the cafeteria, also features a selection of the following certified coffees:

Organic: grown without synthetic chemical pesticides or herbicides, using only natural fertilizers and sustainable agricultural methods that protect soil quality, water resources, and the native environment.

French Roast
Columbia Cafe del Alma

Fair Trade: guarantees that farmers are paid a just price for their coffee, helping them afford health care and education, while providing housing assistance for their families and farm workers.

French Roast
Guatemala Oriflama
Columbia Cafe del Alma
Cafe del Corazon

Rainforest Alliance Certified: the seal is awarded to small farms, plantations and cooperatives that meet comprehensive and rigorous standards covering social, labor and environmental conservation issues. Certification combines the economics of good farm production with better trading practices to secure improved livelihoods for farm families, farm workers and ecosystem conservation.

Guatemala Oriflama

Paper Product Selections

As part of its efforts to reduce cafeteria waste, the Green Team Food Committee has implemented several new paper product selections in the medical center's cafeteria with the goal of demonstrating the importance of recycling to its customers. These new selections include:

Greenware®: all dessert parfaits and cold Starbucks beverages sold in the cafeteria are served in Greenware® cold drink cups, which are manufactured from a biopolymer resin derived entirely from plants.
Drink Earth: a refill mug program for both coffee and fountain soda. The mugs are composed of 77% pre-consumer recycled plastic. Initial purchase of a mug includes a free fill with a subsequent discount for all refills.

In addition, the Starbucks located in the medical center's cafeteria provides the first 10% post-consumer recycled fiber cup, as well as a 60% post-consumer recycled cup sleeve for all hot beverages. Java City provides cup sleeves produced from 70% post-consumer recycled fiber.

Napkins available in the cafeteria are produced from 100% recycled fibers and, similar to condiments, are available from single-dispensing containers to help reduce usage and waste. These dispensers are estimated to reduce cafeteria waste by up to 30%.

For a complete list of all "green" initiatives currently underway at the University of Maryland Medical Center, please visit this page.

This page was last updated on: May 21, 2012.

For patient inquiries, call 1-800-492-5538 or click here to make an appointment.