Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 67.35
Liaison Laurie Husted
Submission Date June 9, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Bard College
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Katrina Light
Director Food Sustainability
Chartwells
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1: Sustainable Dining Initiatives 

Sustainable Dining Policy

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a published sustainable dining policy?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainable dining policy:
We are committed to: Lowering the carbon foodprint Reducing our pre- and post- consumer food waste and donating food when able Working toward enhancing current systems as the technology and resources are available (ex. Compost, transportation systems etc.) Ensuring health and wellness in menu engineering Promoting in-season, house-made, and local foods Providing educational opportunities for students and staff Increasing transparency in our purchasing habits, as well as tracking and expanding Bard’s “Real Food” percentage Investing and divesting in food companies based on research Strategizing how Bard’s food initiatives can influence the larger system Promoting student agency within decision-making and keeping a feedback loop in place to ensure this

On-Campus Sourcing 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor source food from a campus garden or farm?:
Yes

A brief description of the program to source food from a campus garden or farm:
Since its inception in 2012, more than 80 students have worked to produce more than 60,000 pounds of food, from basics like peppers, greens, and squash to specialty crops like honey, hops, maple syrup, cranberries, and shitake mushrooms. Creating a connection between students, farm, and food is one of the central missions of the Bard College Farm, a 1.25-acre sustainable urban farm where Bard students organically grow fruit and vegetables to sell to Chartwells, the campus dining service. During the 2015 growing season, Chartwells purchased almost 20,000 pounds of fresh produce directly from the farm.

Local Community Engagement 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host a farmers market, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery program, and/or urban agriculture project, or support such a program in the local community?:
Yes

A brief description of the farmers market, CSA or urban agriculture project:
Farmstand every Thursday during the growing season

Vegan Dining Program 

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the vegan dining program:
Bard College offers vegan dining options in all dining halls. We serve full vegetarian and vegan options every meal. For example, Vegan Thai curry with tofu, eggplants and red bell peppers and Swiss Chard and Garbanzo Stew.

Low-Impact Dining Events 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host low impact dining events (e.g. Meatless Mondays)?:
Yes

A brief description of the low impact dining events:
Low Carbon Mondays. CAP outlining meat reduction plan. Focus on sustainably sources seafood. Rooted program featuring vegan main course options. Harvest of the Month

Sustainability-Themed Meals 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host sustainability-themed meals (e.g. local harvest dinners)?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-themed meals:
Food Day Earth Day Thursday Night Choose Your Own Meals Students Feeding Students

Sustainability-Themed Outlet 

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?:
No

A brief description of the sustainability-themed food outlet:
---

Labeling and Signage 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor inform customers about low impact food choices and sustainability practices through labeling and signage in dining halls?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability labeling and signage in dining halls:
Bard EATS signage notifies customers of their food choices

Outreach and Education 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor engage in outreach efforts to support learning and research about sustainable food systems?:
Yes

A brief description of the outreach efforts to support learning and research about sustainable food systems:
Bard EATS committee and related projects. The More than Campaign* that highlights the carbon footprint associated with dining options. https://morethanbard.com/ The Carbon Foodprint software program that breaks down menu engineering.

Other Initiatives 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have other sustainability-related initiatives (e.g. health and wellness initiatives, making culturally diverse options available)?:
Yes

A brief description of the other sustainability-related dining initiatives:
Mobile teaching kitchen focused on seasonality and cultural diversity. Choose your own menu program featuring student input and fighting against menu fatigue.

Part 2: Food and Dining Waste 

Food Recovery Program

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the food recovery competition or commitment program or food waste prevention system:
Our food service provider, Chartwells, uses TrimTrax to accomplish this goal. Through our annual participation in Recyclemania, we track post consumer food waste daily for an eight week period.

Trayless Dining and Portion Modifications 

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the trayless dining or modified menu/portion program:
Chartwells is trayfree and uses reduced diameter plates. They highlight their use of local foods to encourage people to value them, not scrap them.

Food Donation 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor donate food that would otherwise go to waste to feed people?:
Yes

A brief description of the food donation program:
There are several times throughout the academic year where large food donations are made to local food shelters. In addition we do a promotion that is focused on waste reduction which is measured. Any waste reduction is rewarded by making food donations to local food shelters and charities. This program is called project clean plate. In addition, each spring, our staff participates in the Eat Right Live Right Challenge which promotes healthy eating and exercise. For 8 weeks collective weight loss and activity hours are monitored. For each pound lost a donation of $5 in food is made and $3 for each activity hour logged. Last year, this equated to over $1000 in food donations to local food pantries. We also donate leftover food from the all you can eat dining facility 5 days per week to Caring Hands Soup Kitchen.

Food Materials Diversion 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor divert food materials from the landfill, incinerator or sewer for animal feed or industrial uses (e.g. converting cooking oil to fuel, on-site anaerobic digestion)?:
Yes

A brief description of the food materials diversion program:
We have in the past converted cooking oil to diesel, we are open to returning to that program, and we are currently searching for funding to support anaerobic digestion for our current compost program.

Composting 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a pre-consumer composting program?:
Yes

A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program:
Chartwells employees collect food production scraps (pre consumption), weigh them with a TrimTax program, and place them in wheeled toters. A B&G employee takes the containers from the eating facilities at Kline, to the compost pile at the Recycle Yard.

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a post-consumer composting program?:
Yes

A brief description of the post-consumer composting program:
Students empty food scraps into a designated container at the main eatery's dish return area. Chartwells employees wheel the food scraps to the loading dock. A B&G employee picks up the contents of the containers from the eating facilities at Kline and brings them to the compost pile at the Recycle Yard. There is a residence hall collection program - kitchens have green collection buckets that are brought curbside, as needed, and brought to our Recycle Yard.

Dine-In Service Ware 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor utilize reusable service ware for “dine in” meals?:
Yes

A brief description of the reusable service ware program:
We do have reusable service ware at our main dining facility however we combat dish ware theft and are working to create awareness around using fewer paper and plastic service ware.

Take-Away Materials 

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)?:
No

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 (e.g. mugs) instead of disposable or compostable containers in “to-go” food service operations?:
Yes

A brief description of the reusable container discount or incentives program:
In existence at DTR Cafe and Manor Cafe: Buy 9 beverages with reusable mug get the 10th beverage free

Other Materials Management Initiatives 

Has the institution or its primary dining services contractor implemented other materials management initiatives to minimize waste not covered above (e.g. working with vendors and other entities to reduce waste from food packaging)?:
Yes

A brief description of other dining services materials management initiatives:
Take Back Kline is an effort to reclaim durable dishes that leave the dining hall. Several times during the year, an effort to reward returned dishes is undertaken by BardEATs members. Raffle tickets are awarded based on the number of dishes returned, with Bard Bucks as the prize. FLEX accounts offer 13% discounts on meals for off campus students and students with limited meal plans to minimize stealing and offer an alternative for students who have run out of meal points.

Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
http://www.bard.edu/bardeats/

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Bard College has signed onto the Real Food Challenge and therefore this data is based on August and September 2013. While it is true that 10% of our vegetables are harvested from the Bard College Farm during that time and that helps increase our numbers of Real Food - we have started several relationships with local vegetable purveyors since then that should ensure the vegetable numbers are staying constant in the winter months. Since our percentages of Real Food A and Real Food B continue to tick upward - it is assured that this representative sample will continue to improve.

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.