Overall Rating Bronze - expired
Overall Score 32.46
Liaison Feng Teter
Submission Date Aug. 7, 2020

STARS v2.2

California State University, Fresno
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.85 / 2.00 Beth Weinman
Associate Professor
Earth and Environmental Sciences
"---" 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:
The products in-store have been either grown, packaged, and/or processed by Fresno State and its students.

This unique market is the only location that unifies and showcases the products of the different enterprise units of the Fresno State University Farm Laboratory. In the market, customers will find the many products of the Crop, Dairy, Enology, Floral, Food Processing, Horticulture, Meat, Orchard, and Viticulture Departments.

All of our fresh produce are picked from our fields and placed directly on our shelves.

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:
As a state entity of California and in coordination with the Department of General Services, the CSU adheres to Small Business and Disabled Veterans Business Enterprise (SBDVBE) policy and statutory requirements as it pertains to construction materials and services, motor vehicle equipment and services, and other general professional and materials. For more information, please visit: https://calstate.policystat.com/policy_search/?q=dvbe

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:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:5ynTXs0B3KQJ:www.auxiliary.com/diningservices/mealplans/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-b-1-d

The University Dining Hall (UDH) has a variety of daily meal options with breakfast, lunch and dinner offered during the week, with brunch and dinner on the weekends.

You can choose food from main dishes, soup and salad bars, potato and pasta bars, cooked to order meals from the grill, fresh bakery items, healthy vegan alternatives, vegetarian options and desserts.

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:
The CSU participates in diverting commercial and post-consumer food waste from landfills and incinerators through its Organic Recycling program. It also is mandated to report annually the amount of food waste generated and types of programming focused on minimizing the amount of organic waste generated on site to the CalRecycle State Agency Reporting Center (SARC), per AB 1826 Solid Waste: Organic Recycling.

For more information, please visit: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB1826&search_keywords

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?:
No

A brief description of the trayless dining or modified menu/portion program:
---

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:
http://www.fresnostate.edu/studentaffairs/foodsecurity/student-cupboard.html

The Fresno State Food Security Project is a multi-initiative program to support students who may be experiencing food insecurity or other challenges that might inhibit their academic success at Fresno State. The initiatives were created to reach out to students in varying levels of food insecurity, as well as provide students with resources available to them both on and off campus.

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?:
No

A brief description of the food materials diversion program:
---

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:
---

Dine-in service ware 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor utilize reusable service ware for “dine in” meals?:
No

A brief description of the reusable service ware program:
---

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 instead of disposable or compostable containers in “to-go” food service operations?:
No

A brief description of the reusable container discount or incentives program:
---

Optional Fields

A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
The University tracking and reporting is grounded in the Real Food Challenge guidelines, or equivalent. The Campus strives to increase its sustainable food purchases to 20 percent of total food budget by 2020. Campuses and food service organizations collaborate to provide information and/or training on sustainable food service operations to staff and patrons.

For more information, please visit: https://calstate.policystat.com/policy/6987526/latest/

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.