FM On Demand with Tara Fitzpatrick: The dirt on making composting cool from BGSU marketing guru

By now, most people in the food industry have heard the buzz words “food waste,” and in fact, were probably well aware of that fact long before the rest of us caught on. Food waste, which can be pre- or post-consumer, affects food cost. And it also affects the planet. And your customers’ perception of you, too. A recent report from Inside Higher Ed and College Pulse finds that sustainability is a top concern for current college students, and one of the first places they look? You guessed it: The dining program. So, it behooves a dining program to not only put sustainable measures into practice (composting, raising awareness on food waste to purchasing practices…it runs the gamut), but to also toot their own horn. That’s where BGSU Dining’s Director of Marketing and Communications Jon Zachrich comes in. We talk about the nuances and complexities of getting the word out and what that means in today’s ever-changing digital world. Getting rooted in composting is a jumping off point to talk to students about lots of other stuff, and that’s where marketing really fulfills its role as an integral part of a dining operation.