Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 47.15
Liaison Sergio Alza
Submission Date Nov. 24, 2020

STARS v2.2

Brock University
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.60 / 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?:
Yes

A brief description of the farmers market, CSA or urban agriculture project:
In 2011, Brock began hosting a weekly Farmers Market from April through September. The popular lunch-hour tradition is held in Jubilee Court every Thursday with artisans, crafters, musicians and food vendors set up mid-afternoon. The Farmers Market supports various local vendors to provide a wide range of products for students, staff/faculty, and community members.

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:
---

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:
Dining Services at Brock University actively supports student-driven initiatives that help the local community, as they support the Brock University Students’ Union (BUSU) and the Graduate Students’ Association (GSA). Both BUSU and GSA focus on promoting academic, professional and social student development, and enable opportunities for the interaction between students and the internal/external community.

Estimated percentage of total food and beverage expenditures on products from disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
---

Low-impact dining

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host low impact dining events or promote plant-forward options?:
No

A brief description of the low impact dining events and/or plant-forward options:
---

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:
Brock University offers a wide variety of Dining Services options on campus, which range from healthy grab and go choices, home-style noodles and rice dishes, to soup and salad options. The Dining Services locations have vegetarian and vegan options available for the students, staff/faculty. Many restaurants within the Union Station cafeteria have various options for vegans and vegetarians – Burrito Boys has both vegetable tofu and sweet potato and other meat alternatives for their burritos and quesadillas. Harvey’s offers a veggie burger and Booster Juice also has the option for vegetarian and vegan smoothies that use soy milk instead of dairy.

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?:
No

A brief description of the sustainability labelling and signage in dining halls:
---

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:
Brock University conducts an annual waste audit that includes organic waste. The waste audit provides estimates of the annual amount of solid non-hazardous waste materials disposed and diverted. This audit provides an opportunity to track and improve food management practices and helps support Dining Services towards becoming zero-waste.

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:
Brock University is working towards phasing out the use of all trays and donating them to long-term care facilities in the Niagara Region. Dining Services offers two sustainable take-out options for students, staff/faculty – Green 2 Go reusable container program or biodegradable paper take-out containers. The Green 2 Go reusable container program helps divert waste and reduce the number of single-use items on campus. The paper take-out containers are sorted into an on-site pulper, which are then pulped and put into organic bins. All pulp is picked up by a local organic recycling company, and this initiative reduces 10 bags of garbage down to one.

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:
Brock University donates frozen foods, dry goods, and canned goods when they have the opportunity. These items are donated to local food banks around the Niagara Region.

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:
Brock University has an on-site pulper in Market Hall, and through the recycling program on campus biodegradable and compostable food items are separated; these items are then pulped and put into organic bins. All pulp is picked up by a local organic recycling company, and this reduces 10 bags of garbage down to one.

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the post-consumer composting program:
Brock University has set-up a centralized area to dispose of organic waste in one of the main dining areas – Market Hall. In Market Hall organic food waste can be disposed of on a conveyor belt, which is then sent to the pulper. Additionally, there are small compost bins in the lunchrooms for staff and faculty. By making composting more convenient around campus, the goal of this program is to improve Brock’s overall waste diversion rate.

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:
Dining Services at Brock University aims to reduce the amount of packaging and plastics used on campus by offering environment-friendly alternatives. Dining Services offers steel utensils and reusable plates in the cafeterias to reduce the need for single-use plastics and reduce waste.

Additionally, any student that purchases a meal plan at Brock University receives either a reusable coffee mug or a reusable water bottle. In the future, Dining Services hopes to provide cleaning stations for these items across campus, to make these items more convenient to use regularly.

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:
Brock University offers the Green 2 Go reusable container program. The customer may opt make a one-time $5 purchase for the container, which can then be taken anywhere. When they are finished with the container, it can be returned dirty to any of the participating dining areas and then they receive a Green 2 Go card in exchange for the dirty container, which can be handed to a food server at a later date to get a clean container. These containers can be washed over 800 times, therefore can significantly reduce the amount of waste being produced from take-out food items.

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:
All coffee serving locations on campus that are operated by Brock University offer a discount to those who bring their own reusable cup. The Brock University Students’ Union runs General Brock and at this store customers who bring a reusable cup of any size pay only $1.25; this discount makes it the cheapest cup of coffee on campus. For those living in residence, dining halls have a punch card system – each time a student uses their reusable cup the food servers punch their card. In addition to the discount, for every eight drinks they purchase with a reusable cup, the ninth is free, which is extended to fountain pop, infused water and hot beverages like coffee and tea.

Optional Fields

A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
---

Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:
https://brocku.ca/sustainability/initiatives/dining-services/

Additional documentation to support the submission:
BrockU-Sustainability-Plan-FINAL-digital.pdf

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Farmers Market: https://brocku.ca/brock-news/2018/05/farmers-market-returns-to-campus-may-24/

Dining Services locations: https://brocku.ca/dining-services/dining-on-campus/locations-on-campus-and-hours-of-operation/

Dining Tray Donation: https://brocku.ca/brock-news/2020/04/dining-services-donates-trays-to-local-long-term-care-home

Green 2 Go Program: https://brocku.ca/brock-news/2017/02/brock-launches-green-2-go-re-usable-container-program/

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.