Bachelor of Science
Sustainable Food Systems

Sample Courses

Explore the full JWU Catalog course listing:

Charlotte

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JWU Feature: Up from the Roots

When College of Food Innovation & Technology Dean Jason Evans left his hometown of Beckley, West Virginia, in 1998 to attend the University of Virginia, the experience was revelatory. It wasn’t just how different the world looked beyond the narrow valleys and verdant rolling hills of southern West Virginia, where his family has farmed and mined since 1890, but how differently the rest of the world ate.

“I assumed that everybody grew their own food, and that their moms and grandmoms canned and froze food all summer,” says Evans, dean of the College of Food Innovation & Technology (CFIT). He didn’t realize how good he had it — how much food sovereignty and quality his family farm provided him. “To have control over what you’re eating, and always eating fresh … I was very lucky.”

“Food is a practical tool to make the world better.”

The world has woken up to the importance of these values, too. Consumer demand for sustainable and local food has grown precipitously. According to the International Food Information Council, 59% of Americans say that sustainable production is an important factor in their food choices.

At the same time, climate change, pandemic-related supply shortages and other external issues have exposed the extreme vulnerabilities of the system.

CFIT is designed to be a place where students come to develop answers. “Our students come in with this genuine and honorable belief that they can save the world,” notes Associate Professor Branden Lewis, Ed.D., ’04, ’06 MBA. “They feel like the planet is broken and they can fix it.”

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Harnessing the Transformative Power of Food

JWU’s new bachelor of science degree in Sustainable Food Systems explores ways to transform our entrenched, largely industrialized systems into more resilient, responsive and dynamic networks that work for — not against — the planet.

Chef Branden Lewis, who spearheaded the program’s evelopment, sees it as “a moral obligation” for chefs to understand how their professional practice (be it cooking, sourcing, product development or policy-making) affects the longterm longevity of our food systems: “We’re actually teaching students about the political economy that surrounds their food,” he explains. “You can take an action-based approach to address sustainability like no one else can. You have to know what your decisions mean for the food system, for your communities, for your workers.”

“I could sit here and tell you what’s more sustainable, or you can decide for yourself by experiencing it. That’s a transformative moment.”

The program’s structure provides an interdisciplinary framework to enable students to explore diverse perspectives at the intersection of social food justice, policy and advocacy, and environmental protection. Notes Lewis, “I could sit here and tell you what’s more sustainable, or you can decide for yourself by experiencing it. That’s a transformative moment — and you can’t really do anything except foster conditions to help create that moment.”

For Lewis, it’s an incredible opportunity for students to develop their critical thinking and become resilient learners — all in the service of shaping innovative solutions to issues like climate change, food loss and food security. (There is also a master’s program in Food Innovation & Technology available at the Providence Campus for those who want to take an even deeper dive into these complex systemic issues.)

In the video above, Chef Lewis and Compass Group Chef Aaron Perrott (a JWU alum) discuss the importance of sustainability in culinary education.

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Customize with Minors

• Students in the Sustainable Food Systems program can take courses in the Culinary Sustainability minor, which is made up of 4 additional culinary/pastry sustainability labs and one capstone-style academic; other choices include minors in Nutrition, Food Studies or Public Health.

MINORS

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Faculty Contact

Charlotte

Jennifer Gallagher, CHE
980-598-1479
Email

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