| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 72.66 |
| Liaison | Megan Litke |
| Submission Date | March 5, 2021 |
American University
OP-8: Sustainable Dining
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.75 / 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 August 2019-March 2020, $88,492.00 (3% of spend) was spent on locally sourced 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 - this partnership continues.
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:
Chartwells at AU dining has daily vegan options for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Rooted in TDR (main dining hall) has an all-vegan menu. Other campus dining locations have symbols that mark vegan and vegetarian options.
Vegan and Vegetarian Brochure: http://dineoncampus.com/files/section_documents/617455b2-77dc-4a6c-9571-6c0f0e7fa0b3.pdf
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, Airlie.
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:
Chartwells food management has established practices from initial purchase to final waste disposal that decrease the overall cost of waste both environmentally and financially. Dining hall staff participate in back-of-house composting.
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:
In addition to having trayless dining, the main dining hall (TDR) has reusable service ware for dine in meals.
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:
Certified compostable clamshells are available for to-go meals.
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:
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:
*Dining programs are as of pre-COVID. Dining operations have been limited since March 2020 because students are primarily remote with only a few exception.
*Aramark is AU's previous dining contractor. Chartwells was selected as the new dining contractor in summer 2019.
*Dining programs are as of pre-COVID. Dining operations have been limited since March 2020 because students are primarily remote with only a few exception.
*Aramark is AU's previous dining contractor. Chartwells was selected as the new dining contractor in summer 2019.
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.