Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 54.90
Liaison Leslie Raucher
Submission Date March 6, 2020

STARS v2.2

Barnard College
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.68 / 2.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Sustainable dining initiatives

Local community engagement

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?:
No

A brief description of the farmers market, CSA or urban agriculture project:
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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:
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Inclusive and local sourcing

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the support for disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
We work with local restaurants and food vendors within the Compass-approved family such as our Sushi provider at Diana Center Café and our exclusive purchasing policy with our two local coffee vendors at Liz’s Place. We assist local and disadvantaged food-related business with product tastings and tablings at our units, and providing support in becoming part of the Compass-approved network.

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

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host low impact dining events or promote plant-forward options?:
Yes

A brief description of the low impact dining events and/or plant-forward options:
All special events and samplings in our all-you-care-to-eat facility uses reusable serviceware and utilizes batch cooking to control waste. If it occurs in our retail unit, all disposable ware is compostable. We also have a dedicated station known as Fyul, which is always a meatless station that educated customers on making lower-impact and plant-forward dining choices. Our catering unit offers vegan and vegetarian only menus on request.

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:
Our Fyul station is both a vegan station and an allergen-free station that offers meatless and vegan dishes daily that are free of the eight most common allergens. Though not open during breakfast, it is open during lunch and dinner daily.

Labelling and signage 

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability labelling and signage in dining halls:
Yes, we do. In addition to any branding for our fyul station, we also post proudly our local farms that we purchase from as well as our monthly percentages of local and ethically sourced purchases.

Part 2. Food waste minimization and recovery

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:
We utilize a proprietary waste program called Waste Not, which automatically tracks and transfers our purchases and daily waste. The system uses that information to give suggestions on where to shift menuing and cut back purchasing.

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:
We utilize reusable trays in our all-you-care-to-eat facilities and do not utilize trays in our retail facilities. We also consistently serve smaller portions per station visit and offer smaller plate sizes in our AYCTE facility.

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:
We utilize the Columbia chapter of the Food Recovery Network, which pairs dining providers with local shelters, churches, and community centers. We have weekly food pickups at our AYCTE facility, where we donate at least 50lbs of freshly-prepared foods.

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the food materials diversion program:
Barnard offers food scraps collection in four academic buildings, 26 offices, and 3 dorms. This post-consumer food waste is taken to a municipal bio-digester in Brooklyn, where it converted into fuel.

Composting 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a pre-consumer composting program?:
No

A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program:
---

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 

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 also provide free reusable green containers to students for take-out meals and use disposable compostable containers and “silverware” at our retail facilities.

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)?:
Yes

A brief description of the compostable containers and service ware:
We also provide free reusable green containers to students for take-out meals and use disposable compostable containers and “silverware” at our retail facilities.

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the reusable container discount or incentives program:
At both coffee locations, we provide a 15% discount to any student who uses a reusable mug.

Optional Fields

A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
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Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:
https://www.dineoncampus.com/barnard/sustainability

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.