| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 64.13 |
| Liaison | Michael Kensler |
| Submission Date | Feb. 4, 2022 |
Auburn University
OP-8: Sustainable Dining
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.43 / 2.00 |
Glenn
Loughridge Director of Dining Services Auxiliary Services |
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indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Part 1. Sustainable dining initiatives
Local community engagement
Yes
A brief description of the farmers market, CSA or urban agriculture project:
The College of Agriculture hosts an open-air, growers-only farmers market each Thursday from May through August at Ag Heritage Park on campus. The market features area vendors offering fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables, herbs, ornamental plants, and cut flowers as well as locally produced jams and jellies, baked goods, soaps, honey, goat cheese, and more. The Community Garden at Auburn also grows food for CSA members, along with campus dining venues and local restaurants.
Sustainability-themed outlet
No
A brief description of the sustainability-themed food outlet:
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Inclusive and local sourcing
Yes
A brief description of the support for disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
The campus dining vendor, Aramark, purchases products manufactured by Black & Minority Owned Enterprises through the broadline vendor system.
Estimated percentage of total food and beverage expenditures on products from disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
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Low-impact dining
Yes
A brief description of the low impact dining events and/or plant-forward options:
Tiger Dining partners with the Office of Sustainability to host the Sustainability Picnic each year during Welcome Week. This zero-waste meal features an all-vegetarian menu curated from almost exclusively locally-grown foods and is available to students, staff, faculty, and the community. Tiger Dining also features plant-forward meal options in its residential dining halls and has other meals that feature Auburn Foods, which are locally-grown, locally-produced foods.
Vegan dining program
No
A brief description of the vegan dining program:
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Labelling and signage
Yes
A brief description of the sustainability labelling and signage in dining halls:
Tiger Dining uses the Auburn Foods logo to denote foods that have been sourced locally and standardized leaf-shaped logos to signify vegetarian, vegan, whole grain, and "eat well" items that provide at least a full serving of nutritionally dense whole foods, and are lower in calories, saturated fat, and sodium.
Part 2. Food waste minimization and recovery
Food recovery program
Yes
A brief description of the food recovery competition or commitment program or food waste prevention system:
The on-campus provider uses its internal systems to monitor and track food waste volumes and has company-wide goals to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030. In addition, the Campus Kitchens Project at Auburn University participates in the national organization by reporting its food recovery numbers, community events, and attending national trainings.
Trayless dining and portion modifications
Yes
A brief description of the trayless dining or modified menu/portion program:
By standard practice, Auburn features tray-less dining and portion sizes are equitable to a single serving.
Food donation
Yes
A brief description of the food donation program:
Tiger Dining works closely with the Campus Kitchens Project at Auburn University to capture food surplus for repackaging into complete meals and then donating to food-insecure individuals in the Auburn, Opelika, and Tuskegee communities.
Food materials diversion
Yes
A brief description of the food materials diversion program:
One hundred percent of dining services used fryer oil is recycled.
Composting
No
A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program:
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Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a post-consumer composting program?:
No
A brief description of the post-consumer composting program:
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Dine-in service ware
Yes
A brief description of the reusable service ware program:
Tiger Catering offers reusable service ware as one of its options for catered events, and all dining halls feature reusable plates and utensils.
Take-away materials
No
A brief description of the compostable containers and service ware:
Reusable to-go containers have been purchased for use in the campus dining hall locations, but the full-scale program has not yet rolled out to the campus community. Also while Auburn has no standardized composting program, Tiger Dining-operated venues provide all compostable and/or recyclable containers for to-go items. This effort is in anticipation of the development of a food-waste composting program for the campus.
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?:
No
A brief description of the reusable container discount or incentives program:
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Optional Fields
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Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.