Lunch sources unclear School food vendors won't reveal their suppliers By VANESSA SZPURKO Vancouver and the Langara stu- dent body, but whether it has made its way into the cafeteria is less clear. Changing those corporate food sources to local ones in the cafeteria is not simple. “The majority of educational institu- tions usually have long-term contracts with their distributors that they’re buying from,” said Bonita Jo Magee of Farm Folk City Folk. Eating locally also means eating sea- sonally, said Magee. “The variety that’s available if you’re going to be buying from local producers is going to really fall during the winter and spring. There needs to be a program where they are buying and freezing or drying or canning what they’re using.” Troy Martin, director of non-tradi- tional restaurants for Quiznos Canada, said the Quiznos in the cafeteria does have the option of using local produce. However, localizing the other ingredi- ents is complex. It is cheaper to have one main plant producing all food prod- ucts for Quiznos. This also keeps costs down for consumers. However, cost is not actually the main issue. “The difficulty that national brands have is how do you ensure that every- one is using the exact same quality product from coast to coast?” said Mar- tin. Consumers — ex- pect their product to be the same wherever they get it in Canada, and that can be difficult to manage when there are multiple food sources. Chartwells, the cafeteria’s main food provider, did not respond to email questions by deadline. White Spot, the parent company of Triple O’s, also did not respond in time. Tim Hortons said the information be- ing sought was private and could not be released. Arts and science student Jennifer Wu said she believes that Chartwells promotes the corporate food outlets like Triple O’s and Tim Hortons over other locations in the cafeteria that may be offering local products. Magee emphasized that any effort to eat local is a valid one. “Start with baby steps. No step is too small.” Computer science student Abram Wiebe said, “I would prefer if it came from local sources because it would be fresher, and it would support locals. “But there are some fruits they have at the salad bar you couldn’t have at this time of year. Because it’s warm in California where you can grow them, but you can’t grow them here.” Biology student Andrea Stevenson makes an effort to eat local in her per- sonal life, but is hesitant to push for lo- cal food in the cafeteria because of po- tential price inflation. “If you get a local product from the grocery store it’s not going to be as ex- pensive,” said Stevenson. “I buy local for myself, but when I go out I’m not as concerned with it, unless that’s the point of the restaurant.” Creative writing and psychology stu- dent Kyle Lucas said, “I only buy local produce, because I work on a farm and it’s something I care about.” Ti local food movement has fans in >, ANDREA STEVENSON Biology student Lawn oy as rah A RRR et emanate ee Orn Melissa Ferreira, owner of Adhesif Clothing, creates most of her pieces in the back of her store. Green, more than a colour Eco Fashion Week challenges designers with slow-fashion movement By BILL EVERITT co Fashion Week returns to Van- couver Oct. 6 to 10, marking its seventh year of celebrating envi- ronmentally friendly designs, fabrics and manufacturing. Working in fashion for years, Myri- am Laroche witnessed the massive amount of waste created at every stage of the process. This inspired her to be- gin Eco Fashion Week: a series of fash- ion shows designed to highlight envi- ronmentally friendly materials, methods of manufacture and design. The eco fashion movement is based on the philosophy of reducing the envi- ronmental impact of the fashion indus- try. Eco Fashion Week organizers claim fashion is the third-most-pollut- ing industry in the world. Glencora Twigg, co-owner of twigg&hottie, said it all comes down to ethical workmanship and production. “Our focus on sustainability is im- proving, at a minimum, one step of the chain of distribution,” she said. Their store mostly sells women’s clothing, but they also feature a design- er who makes men’s T-shirts and box- ers. All items in their store bring to- gether one or more aspects of sustainability, such as using organic cotton or being made by hand. How a fabric is dyed is an important factor for sustainability. Synthetic dyes are highly toxic to groundwater and Glencora suggested consumers check the label for natural dyes. Melissa Ferreira, owner of adhesif clothing, believes eco-fashion in Van- couver is about building community and getting to know the people who make your clothes. “It’s a slow-fashion movement,” she said. “We want people to slow down and question everything. Go beyond the tag and think of the whole process. Organic materials are important, but they aren’t everything.” Reworking used garments is the cor- nerstone of Ferreira’s philosophy. From this “discarded yardage” she fills her store with unique garments. “Tf you love it, if it’s quality and if you will use it, then it’s an investment in yourself and the environment,” she said. Ferreira has participated in the fash- ion show in the past, but is taking this year off to step back and focus on her business. If can take her three times as long as a standard manufacturer to make a collection of items. Eco Fashion Week is growing every year, with continuing support from Value Village and new sponsors like Vancity and Holt Renfrew. Eco Fashion Week kicks off Oct. 6 at Robson Square. Tickets and_ live streaming of fashion shows and semi- nars: www.ecofashion-week.com. BILL EVERITT photo Fashion designers 1 Glencora Twigg twigg&hottie 3671 Main Street Vancouver, BC V5V 3N6 604-879-8595 twiggandhottie.com 2 Melissa Ferreira adhesif clothing 2202 Main Street Vancouver, BC VST 3C7 604-568-4905 adhesifclothing.com Students receptive to better reception now. “I’m surprised. Last semester I By TRICIA LO up an extra tower. Students in the LSU basement can get cellular reception because of the campus’ new rooftop microsite. TRICIA LO photo _ hotspots. Improved signals allow students to continue with smartphone addictions cellular signals around campus thanks to a timely $350,000 installa- tion on the campus’ rooftop. Telus spokesperson Liz Sauvé ex- plained the turnaround. “We were aware that people were ex- periencing slower service than what we want to be providing,” she said. said. To fix the problem, she said Telus built a microsite at Langara that went live at the end of May. The microsite is a small antenna that improves the coverage without putting Les students can stop chasing would’ve had zero,” he said. Langara students complained in past years about the inconveniences and safety issues associated with spotty cellphone reception on campus. “T never answered my messages and people would get worried,” said science her midterms. student Kelsey Langille, who would spend late nights studying at school for Last semester, dietetics student Ash- ley Wong would have to run out into the rain to send a text. “T couldn’t get reception in the li- brary, lecture halls or the cafe,” she The improvements aren’t exclusive to Telus subscribers. “To eliminate the need for more in- frastructure, we have agreements where we roam on one another’s net- Former dead zones are now signal Science student Tom Dao said he gets full reception in the LSU basement work,” said Sauvé. Criminal justice student Shivani Ver- ma says she gets a signal on Virgin Mo- bile’s network everywhere she couldn’t last year.