Overview

The Menus of Change University Research Collaborative (MCURC) is a global network of 500 + members from 80 + colleges & universities, contract companies, and research collaborators that uses campus dining halls as living laboratories to “accelerate progress toward healthier, more sustainable, and delicious foods using evidence.” Its Collective Impact Initiative works to:

• Understand the scale of the environmental impact of our collective purchases;

• Establish shared metrics and ambitious targets;

• Test, iterate, and share solutions that cut food-related GHG emissions;

• And publish annual reports and case studies so other food-service operators can replicate success.

• By leveraging combined purchasing power and data-driven insights, MCURC is accelerating the transition to planet-friendly dining at scale.

Alignment with the EAT-Lancet Commission 

The initiative replaces climate-intensive meat with legumes, nuts, seafood, poultry, and whole grains.

Its 40 % GHG-intensity reduction goal by 2030 echoes the Commission’s call for food systems to stay within planetary boundaries. Open-access toolkits and case studies extend these shifts to the wider food-service sector.

Four years of purchasing data reveal a 23 % drop in protein-related GHG intensity across 93 million lb of food. Pilot campuses report a 7-point rise in Healthy Eating Index scores. Scenario modelling confirms the Collaborative is 60 % of the way toward a 40 % reduction target by 2030.

Next steps

• Broaden participation - onboard the remaining MCURC members to increase the number of reporting institutions.

• Improve metric’s precision - integrate suppliers’ emission-factor data directly into the MCURC GHG calculator, allowing more granular, supplier-specific tracking and target-setting.

• Expand scope – generalize the Healthy Eating Index Score to all participating universities and integrate it to the Collective Impact initiative. 

For more information contact: Sophie Egan at smegan@stanford.edu