University of Pennsylvania

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University of Pennsylvania offers a diverse range of fruit, vegetable and whole grain options incorporated into entrees, sides and dedicated platforms such as “Fruit Plus” providing assorted fruits and yogurt. Options far exceed the minimum five types of fruit, five types of vegetables and two whole grains required at lunch and dinner.

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The total number of fried food options available at University of Pennsylvania's four dining venues is significantly less than the total number of platforms available at lunch and dinner. On one of the two days selected for verification, only one fried food was offered out of 36 platforms open throughout the day.

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University of Pennsylvania offers a wide variety of plant-based entrees, sides, and fruit and vegetable-focused platforms. At least one plant-based option is available at all platforms serving meat.

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Penn Dining and Bon Appétit Management Company are committed to supporting local and sustainable agriculture through the “Farm to Fork” program. Bon Appétit chefs strive to purchase at least 20 percent of their ingredients from small (under five million dollars in sales), owner-operated farms and ranches located within 150 miles of their kitchens. In addition, University of Pennsylvania dining plans may be used at the farmer's market located on campus.

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University of Pennsylvania has implemented tray-less dining in all residential dining cafes. In the same locations, Penn Dining also operates the Green2Go Program to promote the use of reusable to-go containers. Penn Dining estimates the program has the potential to eliminate the need for 171,000 containers annually – 2/3 of current usage.

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University of Pennsylvania provides registered dietitians for personal nutrition assessments, nutrition counseling and support for special dining needs in residential cafes at no charge to students.

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University of Pennsylvania provides 3,409 bicycle parking spaces on campus, which equals one bicycle parking space for every 12 individuals.

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University of Pennsylvania participates in the Ride Indego city bike share program, where three bike share rental locations reside on campus. The Penn Cycle student-run, campus bicycle-rental program also provides bicycle rental opportunities to all students, faculty and staff.

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University of Pennsylvania provides 27 designated bike lanes available for use throughout campus and a “Biking Penn” section of their interactive online campus map to provide details on location and type of bike lanes and trails.

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In 2014, the University of Pennsylvania was awarded the Silver distinction from the League of American Bicyclists' Bicycle Friendly University program.

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The University of Pennsylvania provides a number of programs to encourage faculty, staff, students and visitors to utilize public transportation including free public transportation on two on-campus transportation systems. Both the Lucy Loop and the Penn-Drexel Bus share a partnership between University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University. Students may access discounted fares on local public transit systems including SEPTA in Philadelphia and NJ Transit in New Jersey. In addition, car-sharing, vanpool, emergency ride home services and carpool parking fee discounts are available to members of the University community.

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The University of Pennsylvania offers a wide variety of recreation, physical activity and competitive sports opportunities during each academic year, including more than a dozen unique group exercise classes, at least 30 different intramural and club sports opportunities, a rock-climbing wall and aquatic and tennis programs and clinics.

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Penn Park provides four different outdoor walking and jogging loops ranging in distance from 0.5 to 1.1 miles. The park is open and available for use to individuals on campus and the community for more than three hours per day.

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University of Pennsylvania students have access to seven certified personal trainers to conduct fitness assessments and provide individual, partner and small group training sessions. Services are offered to students at a discounted rate.

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The Healthy Penn Partnership strives to coordinate health and wellness activities for the entire University of Pennsylvania community. The group includes University staff and students, meets twice per month, and supports the coordination of activities throughout campus by various departments and student groups. Through their collaboration, the Partnership extends all health and wellness initiatives to students, faculty and staff.

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New students to the University of Pennsylvania are required to complete the Thrive at Penn online pre-orientation program. The program consists of four modules, one of which focuses on maintaining health and wellness at the University.

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The Nursing Mothers Policy and Penn Nursing Mothers Program support nursing mothers on University of Pennsylvania’s faculty and staff with physical space, adequate break time and milk storage for managing lactation responsibilities at work. The Penn Women’s Center, Penn Children's Center and Family Resource Center offer support for nursing mothers on campus. The Penn Children’s Center and 27 additional campus locations offer nursing and lactation space, with many of those offering multiple rooms for nursing mothers to use.