Food for thought

Visiting eco-chef Roger Feely makes grasshopper tacos during a demonstration of drought-friendly cooking at Festival of Discovery in Aldrich Park. Steve Zylius / UCI

This academic year, the University of California, Irvine is a campus fit for foodies, having prepared a feast of events and activities that explore and expand upon the role food plays in the major social, political and scientific issues of the day.

From cooking demonstrations by visiting eco-chef Roger Feely to an all-day Global Food Summit, the roster addresses a wide range of topics – all under the umbrella of food – that draw together students, staff, faculty, and some of UCI’s most dynamic centers and academic initiatives. Read more …





Banking on food

Standing inside the food pantry at UCI’s Student Outreach & Retention Center are (from left) ASUCI food security co-commissioner Erica Wong, Orange County Food Bank director Mark Lowry, SOAR director Graciela Fernandez and ASUCI food security co-commissioner Karina Lopez.
Audrey Yap

Aiming to satisfy the appetites of underfed students, the University of California, Irvine has launched a campus food bank.

Stocked with canned spaghetti, soup, energy bars and other nonperishables, the free food pantry is part of a systemwide UC effort to combat student hunger.

Plans for an Anteater pantry had been brewing for several years but gained traction in March, after UC President Janet Napolitano granted $75,000 to each UC campus for programs aimed at reducing food insecurity. Read more …