Chef Jonathan Burns: Commitment in Action
Deacon Dining was recently recognized by 4Ps Food Hub in their 2025 Impact Report. Their article stated:
“Chef Jonathan Burns is the kind of institutional leader who understands that food purchasing is about more than prince – it’s about impact, commitment, and doing the hard work to make change.
Throughout his career, Jonathan has actively prioritized organic, regenerative, and regionally sourced products for his menus. Rather than defaulting to the lower-cost option, he considers the long-term outcomes: soil health, farmer viability, animal welfare and student education.
He empowers his culinary teams to be creative with seasonal, local ingredients – proving that operational excellence and mission-driven sourcing can go hand in hand. Today, Wake Forest University is 4P Food’s single best customer, many thanks to Jonathan’s leadership on campus. If you’re ever in that region of North Carolina, go visit. Their dining halls are full of healthy, delicious, transparently sourced food that any college student (or parent paying for it) would be proud of. Go Jonathan! More importantly, Go Jonathan’s team- he has built a team of incredible chefs and warriors who believe much the same. They go above and beyond to buy from 4P’s partner farms and bring magic to life every day for nearly 10,000 WFU students. Go Deacs!”
***Published in the 4Ps 2025 Impact Report