Climate Kitchen | College of Agriculture and Life Sciences | The University of Vermont(title)

The UVM Climate Kitchen is a maker's space for collaboration and experimentation to help us reimagine the connection between food and climate change. All researchers and learners are welcome to join us in a process of emergent discovery.
Two students working at a cooktop

Our Mission

Our mission is to facilitate researchers, students, and communities in using the Climate Kitchen as a living laboratory as they explore new food systems possibilities.

Researchers weighing bags of food waste

Summer Research Institute

Starting in June 2024, The Summer Research Institute allows UVM researchers and collaborators to work with the Climate Kitchen team to develop an emergent approach to formulating research questions, research hypotheses and proposals that seek to address food systems and climate change.

Learn More About The Summer Research Institute

Vision

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This new kitchen of the future will bring together researchers, students, and communities at UVM and beyond to develop more sustainable practices – from sourcing, to cooking, to eating – using the kitchen environment as a living laboratory for: 

  • Food Research & Experimentation 
  • Recipe Development 
  • Sustainable Kitchen Practices 
  • Reimagined Cooking Spaces 

Climate Kitchen Design & Development

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Climate Kitchen design mockup

Our innovative new kitchen space will be constructed at UVM in collaboration with designers and architects. The Climate Kitchen will include a variety of kitchen space prototypes, equipment, and technologies to provoke ideas and actions for more sustainable food systems. 

Partnerships & Donors

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The core UVM Climate Kitchen faculty and researchers have a long history of success in research funding, curriculum development, and published scholarly works. Our focus is on creating opportunities for broader collaboration, partnerships, funding and support. The Climate Kitchen is funded in part the UVM Food Systems Research Center.

Climate Kitchen Video

Our Food System and Climate Change

Stock image birds eye view crop harvest

About a third of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions is linked to food.
eggs being sorted

Animal-based foods are generally associated with the highest greenhouse gas emissions, while plant-based foods use less energy, land, and water.
landfill

Almost 1 billion tons of food goes into trash bins every year. Producing, transporting, and letting that food rot contribute more than 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

 

Five Tenets for Building Sustainable Practices

 

The UVM Climate Kitchen is based around five tenets for building sustainable practices. These five evidence-based tenets address the push and pull between climate change and our food system and will inform research questions and experiments, and aid curriculum design.

Low Waste
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Design alternative packaging and create new preservation systems that lower waste.

Full Cycle
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Use entire ingredients and promote the use of more nutrient dense whole foods.

Local Sourcing
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Leverage seasonality and local sourcing as an opportunity and not a barrier.

Plant Forward Cooking
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Assess macro-micronutrient quality and experiment with new plant and insect protein sources to enhance culinary technics.

Sensory Preferences
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Document preferences across populations to create alternative recipes that respond to sensory preferences.

Meet the Team

Amy B. Trubek - Director

Dr. Trubek is Professor of Nutrition and Food Sciences and the founding faculty director of the Food Systems Graduate Program. She will oversee integrating the design of the Climate Kitchen with research and pedagogical goals around food and climate change.

Emily Barbour - Project Manager

Emily coordinates all the activities in the Nutrition and Food Sciences Foods Lab. She will manage the implementation of the Climate Kitchen.

Amy Finley - Culinary Lecturer

Amy has a passion for food and an interest in the relationship between cooking and food systems. She will be working on the ongoing research around the role of cooking and food agency.

Cynthia Belliveau - Research and Pedagogy Director

Dr. Belliveau is the former Dean of Continuing and Distance Education and Research Faculty Emerita in Nutrition and Food Sciences. She will advise the team on techniques for emergent research and pedagogy to address food and climate change. She will oversee the renovation and identity development of

Alec Adams - Project Advisor

Alec is the Assistant Dean of Administration and Finance at the Grossman School of Business. He will advise the team on the design of the Climate Kitchen and facilitate the renovation process.

Sarra Talib - Sustainability Tenets Coordinator

Sarra is a doctoral student in Food Systems with research interests in the best strategies for designing waste out of food systems, with a focus on kitchen work, especially professional kitchens and those who manage them. She will advise the team on current innovations in technology, policy and prac

For more information, contact Emily Barbour emily.barbour@uvm.edu