In line with the University’s commitment to sustainability and local engagement, much of the food sold at campus cafes is locally produced, including some items created by Penn students and recent alumni.

White and Wong, a company started by Wharton MBA graduates Josh White and Kim Wong, makes gourmet cookies. The popular goodies come in classic flavors, such as chocolate chip, mint chocolate chip, and oatmeal raisin, and also unique flavors like peanut butter chip.

White and Wong received assistance in starting the bakery from Penn’s food service management company, Bon Appétit at Penn Dining, and the Center for Culinary Enterprises (CCE) at the Enterprise Center in West Philadelphia. The CCE provided access to business expertise and a licensed commercial kitchen.

“Instead of having to raise tens of thousands of dollars for setting up our own kitchen, we found the Culinary Center and were able to spend our first year testing concepts, recipes, and marketing to our wholesale and retail customers,” White says.

Last fall, campus retail cafes run by Bon Appétit, including 1920 Commons, Joe’s Café, Mark’s Café and Accenture Café, sold about 1,000 White and Wong cookies each week.

Bon Appétit at Penn Dining also serves high quality beef jerky made by the Righteous Felon Jerky Cartel, a company founded by eight friends from the West Chester area, including Bill Cohen, a student in the Master of Environmental Studies program in the College of Liberal & Professional Studies.

Served across campus, the jerky is made from beef that is free of hormones or antibiotics from the Roseda Farm in Monkton, Md. 

“Penn is a perfect fit for us,” Cohen says. “Studying sustainability, I am really impressed with their commitment to local, responsible food options. They promote our jerky as a sustainable product, and it’s good to see that kind of commitment from such a large operation.”

Righteous Felon donates a portion of their proceeds to the Innocence Project, an organization that works to exonerate people who are wrongly convicted of crimes.