The non-profit UCL University Restaurant Service serves almost 2,000 meals a day, satisfying appetites without emptying wallets. The service has one mission: offer the entire university community quality meals at affordable prices. Service Director Gary Van Loo aims to meet this challenge in a sustainable, eco-friendly and ethical way.
Meals approved by nutritionists are conceived in harmony with the environment and human respect. The service follows a well-established programme of corporate social responsibility.
Since 2011, the service has prioritised healthy meals and ethical products, good working conditions, waste reduction, energy efficiency and frugal non-renewable resource use. A maximum is home-made, thus minimising the use of powdered substitutes and maximising the use of everyday deliveries of fresh, local, seasonal and unprocessed products.
For monitoring, traceability and economic purposes, all meals served in Brussels Woluwe and Mons are prepared in Louvain-la-Neuve. Quality and sustainability are the guiding principles of promoting a healthier, more ethical lifestyle among students and staff.
Vegetarian options have become standard, including the daily offering of an entirely vegetarian meal – the €3.20 ‘plat malin’ (‘smart option’) – ‘Jeudi Veggie’ (‘Veggie Thursday’) and a range of vegetarian sandwiches. Assisted by the spin-off YouMeal, the University Restaurant Service aspires to achieve complete transparency by providing nutritional and environmental impact information concerning every one of its dishes.
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For more information on UCL Restaurant Service, click here.
Keeping fit, eating right
« Bouger Manger » (‘Keeping fit, eating right’) is not only an essential tandem, it’s also the name of a group of six partners that support good health within the university community.
- Univers Santé (‘Health World’, a non-profit)
- UCL’s Sport and Fitness Service
- UCL’s University Restaurant Service
- Comité pour la prévention et la protection au travail (‘Committee for Prevention and Work Safety’, a federal government entity)
- the medical team of UCL’s Student Support Service
- the Sustainable Development Delegate of the Louvain Student General Assembly
Offering good deals, advice, activities, recipe ideas, Bouger Manger aspires to be a platform that serves each and every student.
It aims to help students adopt a healthy, active lifestyle. A guide and quarterly newsletter provide useful information on hydration, nutrition, working hard, sleeping well – vital components of a balanced lifestyle.