| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 75.14 |
| Liaison | Kylee Singh |
| Submission Date | July 10, 2023 |
California Polytechnic State University
OP-8: Sustainable Dining
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Kaitlin
Gibbons Sustainability Coordinator Campus Dining |
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:
• The College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences produces a variety of student-grown and student-made food, flowers, plants and more that are for sale to both the campus community and the general public.
• Some are produced as part of hands-on lessons in university classes. Others are enterprise projects, in which the college provides resources, and students provide labor in design, production, packaging and marketing under the supervision of faculty.
• Farm fresh produce, meat products and other Cal Poly brand food products are sold year-round on and off campus and featured at events throughout the year.
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:
Health Shack is a sustainability focused Campus Dining outlet featuring a 100% plant-based menu.
• The Health Shack is located just outside the Kennedy Library serving breakfast and lunch with vegan and vegetarian options. The venue features locally sourced products when available. Popular choices include the hummus veggie wrap, kale Caesar salad and acai bowls.
• The goal of Health Shack is to provide on-the-go tasty and healthy options for busy students.
Plant Ivy is food truck located in the University Union serving burgers that are entirely plant based.
• These fully vegetarian burgers taste better than their meat-based counterparts. Students enjoy options including a chili cheeseburger and a jalapeno burger.
• Plant Ivy is a locally owned food truck that is parked on campus five days a week. With each burger sold the business donates to a local charity!
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:
Campus Dining sells a variety of products from local vendors in its on-campus markets.
• This includes locally produced granola, pasta, baked goods, meats, and cheeses. In addition, the markets sell Cal Poly grown and produced products including produce, flowers, meat, cheese, jams and sauces.
• For example, The Sweet Bar in the Vista Grande Dining complex serves Leo Leo Gelato. This family-owned gelato business is located nearby in Paso Robles.
Locally owned food trucks can be found in various locations on campus every weekday.
• The food trucks offer students an array of cuisines including Indian and Mexican food, barbeque, and vegetarian options.
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:
Campus Dining hosts an annual Grate-ful event to recognize Stop Food Waste Day and celebrate gratitude for the Earth.
• Campus Dining uses such events to work with campus and community partners on activities such as volunteer harvesting and donations, plant-forward menus, teaching kitchens, sustainability pledges, Earth-friendly activities and more.
Plant-based options are available at all special events including weekly the Chef’s Table Premium meals.
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:
Vegan options are available at nearly every one of Cal Poly’s 30+ dining venues. Main eateries feature robust plant-based offerings at every meal. Examples include:
• Vegan pizza
• Lentil Bolognese
• Vegan Bibimbap bowl
• Cauliflower Shawarma Bowl
• Coconut chia overnight oats
• Roasted Vegetable Tofu Frittata
• Udon Noodle Bowl
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:
The main dining hall features extensive branding to highlight our sustainable practices. A giant map of local farms is painted on one wall to indicate where we source our produce. Other signage draws attention to other sustainable procurement practices (sustainable seafood, cage free eggs, etc). Signage also calls out local products at our campus markets.
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:
Cal Poly uses Waste Not software to assist us in tracking and preventing food waste.
• Each of our venues is equipped with an iPad where all food waste is logged daily. This data is used to identify trends and areas for improvement. Our culinary team uses this data to inform forecasting and prevent overproduction.
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:
Trays are not offered at any Cal Poly dining locations.
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:
Campus Dining donates to the on-campus Food Pantry.
• At the Cal Poly Food Pantry community members can choose from a wide variety of packaged and canned foods, fresh produce and frozen meals.
• Campus Dining partners with Student Affairs to administer the Mustang Meal Share program. Created in 2019, Mustang Meal Share makes it easy for students to donate any amount of dining dollars from their dining plan to Mustangs struggling with food insecurity.
• Feed Cal Poly, a program of Campus Dining, offers an easy, web-based avenue for all faculty, staff, students and their supporters, as well as members of the community to donate to Mustang Meal Share. Donate at https://calpolydining.com/nutrition/food-insecurity/feed-cal-poly/. Campus Dining even provides a 50% match to all outside donations.
• Campus Dining has marketed the opportunity to donate to Mustang Meal Share through the GrubHub app during larger national events, Giving Tuesday, campus-wide events, PolyGives, and dining events like Grate-ful, Delight-ful and a number of others.
• Campus Dining has developed a system in which Cal Poly Food Pantry staff can order from all Campus Dining vendors. Campus Dining staff assists in the delivery of the product.
• Campus Dining provides 40 free frozen meals a week to the Cal Poly Food Pantry.
• Campus Dining is developing a food voucher program for the 2023-24 academic year with a goal of 50,000 free meals.
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:
At Cal Poly, all back of house food production waste is collected as green waste and diverted from landfill.
• Every year, roughly 230 tons of food scraps and coffee grounds are locally composted into nutrient-rich soil.
• Food waste materials are collected in green carts and transported by San Luis Garbage to the local Hitachi-Zozen Anaerobic Digester to produce clean energy and compost. Resulting compost is sold to local farms as a soil amendment.
• Campus Dining prioritizes recycling used cooking oil.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a pre-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program:
At Cal Poly, all food production waste is collected and picked up by local waste management service as green waste.
• Campus Dining and Facilities Management and Development partner with San Luis Garbage to have our pre-consumer (Dining back-of-house) and post-consumer food scraps locally composted.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a post-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the post-consumer composting program:
Campus Dining provides food waste bins in all dining locations to encourage post-consumer composting and landfill diversion.
• Food scrap collection is available in campus student apartments on an opt-in basis to ensure the highest quality and least contamination.
• Additional compost collection locations include staff break rooms, Kennedy Library, Associated Students Incorporated (ASI), Food Processing, the ASI Children’s Center, and from other Zero Waste station bins marked “Food Waste Only.”
https://calpolydining.com/sustainability/waste-stream-management/
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:
Our all-you-care to eat venue, Vista Grande Express, exclusively utilizes reusable wares for all meals. Regardless of whether meals are “for here” or “to go”, food is served in a reusable container. Students return soiled containers and receive a credit on their account for a fresh container during their next visit.
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:
All first-year students are given a reusable tumbler with the purchase of a dining plan. Reusable to-go containers are available at Vista Grande Express.
• Reusable tumblers are free, and use is encouraged with free drinks.
• Vista Grande Express spares 500,000+ single-use containers from the waste stream each year. Our containers need to be reused as little as three times to beat the environmental impact of a single-use container.
Reusable to-go containers
• Our all-you-care to eat venue, Vista Grande Express, exclusively uses reusable to-go containers. There is no option for a single-use container at this venue.
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:
Campus Dining offers a complimentary reusable tumbler to all first-year students with a dining membership.
• The tumbler is embedded with an RFID chip that allows for 100 free drinks and can be reloaded in the future. Use of a reusable tumbler saves $0.10 per fill on fountain drinks.
• The simple practice of reusable cups is intended to help Campus Dining keep thousands of single-use cups out of landfills and helps us lower our environmental footprint.
A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
ChooseWell Ambassadors
• In 2020, Cal Poly received the National Association of College and University Food Services (NACUFS) Bronze Nutrition Award in which Campus Dining was recognized for its ChooseWell Ambassadors.
• Launched in 2019 with the mission to make healthy eating on campus easier for students, the ChooseWell Ambassadors are stationed in the dining facilities to offer nutritional help and advice to students in person.
• The program offers a student-run, feedback powered solution that not only brings awareness to healthy options on campus, but also provides students with interactive nutrition education.
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:
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.