For the fifth year, the Hobart Center for Foodservice Sustainability (HCFS) plans to award a $5,000 grant to the organization judged to have the best-executed foodservice or grocery sustainability project. Applications are currently being accepted, and the recipient is to be announced at the 2012 National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago.

“The Hobart Center for Foodservice Sustainability provides a forum for sharing the best practices that help make foodservice operations more efficient, more sustainable and more profitable,” explained Rick Cartwright, vice president ITW Food Equipment Group and an HCFS Fellow. “We are pleased to again offer a $5,000 grant to a foodservice or grocery organization that demonstrates leadership in sustainability best practices.”

Applicants can enter by submitting a case study of 10 or fewer pages explaining how their program addresses one of more of the following foodservice sustainability challenges:

How the operation reduced energy/water use

How the operation reduced creation of wastewater or solid waste

How the operation implemented Farm-to-Fork programs or other combined programs

Applications must include a financial analysis of the sustainability program including the cost of implementation, continuing costs and the return on investment with a summary of the cumulative cost saving. Descriptions of specific foodservice equipment used to achieve sustainability goals, including ENERGY STAR® qualified equipment, are also encouraged.

All submissions must be received by 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 31, 2012, for the HCFS Fellows to judge. The grant recipient must use the proceeds to invest in additional sustainability efforts. The individual and/or company honored is invited to join the HCFS Fellows and to assist with future initiatives.

Georgia Tech Dining Services (Sodexo) was the 2010 HCFS grant recipient in recognition of its comprehensive, cost-neutral approach to foodservice sustainability.  Programs include energy- and water-saving initiatives, intensive composting and recycling, and the introduction of more local and organic produce in campus foodservice operations. Over the next five years, these programs are expected to generate a cost saving of $807,200 and to help achieve aggressive goals of 26 percent energy-usage reduction and zero waste by August 2015.

Established by Hobart, the HCFS is a forum for foodservice directors, and their builders, designers and contractors to share case studies of their new ideas and accomplishments in foodservice sustainability. Five Fellows who are experts in sustainability and seek to foster new thinking and approaches to sustainability solutions lead the HCFS. They are Michael Berning, director of sustainable design and principal, Heapy Engineering LLP; Rick Cartwright, vice president, ITW Food Equipment Group; John Turenne, founder and president of Sustainable Food Systems; and Richard Young, senior engineer/director of education, Food Service Technology Center. Also serving as Fellows representing Georgia Tech Dining Services/Sodexo are Dori Martin, district marketing manager and Nell Fry, sustainability coordinator.