Sustainability and nutrition
Sustainability has been an important topic for the Studentenwerk SH for many years. The university catering team prefers to buy fresh food in the region and uses regional, organic or fair trade products in its dining halls and cafeterias wherever possible. Through the monthly Green Day, the Studentenwerk Schleswig-Holstein also contributes to climate protection. In 2017, the Studentenwerk was awarded the Kiel Sustainability Prize for its sustainable approach to food. The company also received the same prize for avoiding disposable cups.
Vegetarian and vegan meals are playing an increasingly important role in the Studentenwerk's dining halls and cafeterias. In recent years, demand has increased by almost eleven percent, with a shift from vegetarian to vegan. The range is therefore constantly being expanded with new, delicious dishes.
For those with allergies, our university catering team is constantly searching for low-allergen or allergen-free ingredients. For your information, the 14 most common allergens are labeled in our dining halls.
Important topics
Reusable crockery is a priority for us. We offer reusable crockery with a deposit system at all locations so that bowls and cups can be borrowed simply and easily without having to download an app. Registration is also not necessary anywhere.
A deposit of €7.50 is required for bowls and €4.00 for cups. You can obtain the trays by asking at the counter and paying the deposit at the till. If you are interested in a MW cup, you can get one on request at the cash desk so that you can fill it and pay the deposit at the cash desk together with the drink. You will receive a deposit chip for our cups, which you can exchange for the deposit amount together with the cup and the lid. Please note: We can only take back intact MW crockery including the corresponding lid and pay out the deposit amount accordingly."
You also always have the option of bringing your own clean crockery. We will be happy to fill it.
The organic range in our canteens and cafeterias is diverse. We only offer organic coffee and cocoa as well as various organic teas and organic shell eggs. We buy milk and some poultry products from organic farms in northern Germany. Ingredients such as tofu, dates and chia seeds are exclusively organic and are labelled as such in our menu.
Overview of organic products at the Studentenwerk
You can find out more about organic produce on the information portal on organic farming.
In the university catering facilities, coffee and drinking chocolate are fair trade and organic. This enables the workers to secure their livelihoods and improves their quality of life through health protection.
The Studentenwerk SH also supports the Fairtrade Town campaign in the cities of Kiel, Lübeck and Heide as well as the Fairtrade University FH Westküste as a co-operation partner. Further information at: www.fairtrade-deutschland.de
Farms from which we source our meat from species-appropriate husbandry take great care to ensure animal welfare. For example, the animals have access to stables with daylight and more space than required by law. Only GMO-free feed is used and prophylactic antibiotics are not administered. This way of keeping the animals has a significant effect on the quality of the meat.
We buy the meat from different suppliers in northern Germany, depending on the type of animal. You can find out more about the requirements for animal husbandry here:
Markerup duck
Severin brother cock
We have been avoiding overfished fish species such as redfish and plaice for years in order to help combat overfishing worldwide.
We buy shell eggs or processed eggs mainly from free-range hens.
On the 1st Thursday of every month, we prepare mainly vegetarian dishes in our cafeterias. In individual dining halls, we offer selected meat dishes and deliberately avoid red meat, so that comparatively small amounts of greenhouse gases are produced. With Green Day, we want to make a contribution to climate protection and raise awareness for sustainable nutrition.
Green Day and the ongoing expansion of vegetarian and vegan food offerings have contributed to a significant increase in the meat-free share. Good Food - Cool Climate!
We buy our fresh food as regionally as possible. These ingredients are produced and processed in the northern German region.
We obtain milk for the canteens and cafeterias of the Studentenwerk SH from the Dehlwes organic farm dairy. What is special about this family business is that it only uses organic milk from its own cows and from the neighbourhood within an average radius of 10 kilometres from the dairy. This guarantees short delivery routes and lower CO2 emissions. With our mineral water from Wittenseer, we also source products from the region, namely directly from Groß Wittensee in the Rendsburg-Eckernförde district.
We are constantly expanding our vegan and vegetarian options. There is at least one vegan dish in the canteens every day. Unsuitable side dishes can also be swapped at no extra charge or sauces can be omitted to create a vegan dish from the existing range. The salad bars in some canteens also offer a wide vegan selection, but always a vegetarian one. Vegan cakes, desserts, salads, baked goods, bars and plant-based milk are available in the cafeterias and café lounges, and there is usually also a vegan hot meal menu. The offer varies depending on the size of the company.
With various campaigns, such as World Vegan Day and Veganuary, university catering promotes the vegan offer in the canteen and cafeteria area. Our commitment to an attractive vegan offering has been recognised by the animal rights organisation PETA. Mensa II, Mensa Kesselhaus and Mensa Lübeck were selected as the most vegan-friendly canteens in Germany.
Since the winter semester 23/24, Mensa Kesselhaus has been the first purely vegetarian canteen of the Studentenwerk SH.