| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 69.79 |
| Liaison | Megan Litke |
| Submission Date | March 6, 2020 |
American University
OP-8: Sustainable Dining
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.63 / 2.00 |
Courtney
Stoner Sustainability Analyst Office of Sustainability |
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host a farmers market, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery program, or urban agriculture project, or support such a program in the local community?:
A brief description of the farmers market, CSA or urban agriculture project:
AhealthyU brings the Farmers Market to American University every week and has fresh produce delivered through the From the Farmer delivery service. https://www.american.edu/hr/ahealthyu/farm.cfm
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host a sustainability-themed food outlet on-site, either independently or in partnership with a contractor or retailer?:
A brief description of the sustainability-themed food outlet:
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor support disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through its food and beverage purchasing?:
A brief description of the support for disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
In the period 1/1/18-11/1/18, $30,892.51 was spent on Local purchases and $3,913.90 was spent on WBE Business Certified purchases.
Estimated percentage of total food and beverage expenditures on products from disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host low impact dining events or promote plant-forward options?:
A brief description of the low impact dining events and/or plant-forward options:
Events throughout the year featured local produce, local cheeses, and Meatless Monday meals.
Earth Day 2019 - "earth inspired" food including polenta pizza and plant-forward meatloaf.
In the fall of 2018, dining began partnering with Airlie Farm in Warrenton, VA to receive and showcase locally grown produce.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a vegan dining program that makes diverse, complete-protein vegan options available to every member of the campus community at every meal?:
A brief description of the vegan dining program:
Aramark at AU dining has created daily vegan options for breakfast, lunch and dinner with recipes sourced form the PRIMA recipe index. Food Management has created a separate serving platform to eliminate and avoid cross-contact with meat based foods.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor inform customers about low impact food choices and sustainability practices through labelling and signage in dining halls?:
A brief description of the sustainability labelling and signage in dining halls:
Signs about locally produced food are featured in the dining hall. This practice includes signs about beef produced on our small campus farm.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor participate in a competition or commitment program and/or use a food waste prevention system to track and improve its food management practices?:
A brief description of the food recovery competition or commitment program or food waste prevention system:
Aramark food management has an established LeanPath program and electronic waste tracker program for food production.
Has the institution or its primary dining services contractor implemented trayless dining (in which trays are removed from or not available in dining halls) and/or modified menus/portions to reduce post-consumer food waste?:
A brief description of the trayless dining or modified menu/portion program:
The dining hall has trayless dining.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor donate food that would otherwise go to waste to feed people?:
A brief description of the food donation program:
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor divert food materials from the landfill, incinerator or sewer for animal feed or industrial uses?:
A brief description of the food materials diversion program:
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a pre-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program:
American University collects pre-consumer food scraps through the student composting crew from each dining location on campus. These compostable materials are sent to the Prince Georges County composting facility.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a post-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the post-consumer composting program:
American University has a campus-wide post-consumer composting program. Each building has access to compost bins which are collected and sent to the Prince Georges County composting facility.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor utilize reusable service ware for “dine in” meals?:
A brief description of the reusable service ware program:
Aramark food management employees hourly utility associates sorting and washing reusable plateware and utensils in the dining program
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor provide reusable and/or third party certified compostable containers and service ware for “to-go” meals (in conjunction with an on-site composting program)?:
A brief description of the compostable containers and service ware:
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor offer discounts or other incentives to customers who use reusable containers instead of disposable or compostable containers in “to-go” food service operations?:
A brief description of the reusable container discount or incentives program:
A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
Aramark food management has established AU healthy food demonstrations coordinated by the Registered Dietician and Campus Executive Chef. Additionally Aramark food management has an established "Green Thread" program initiative.
Data is from AY2018-19.
Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.