Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 66.84
Liaison Stephanie Del Rosario
Submission Date May 26, 2022

STARS v2.2

California State University, Fullerton
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Austin Johnson
Sustainability Director
Aramark
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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:

CSUF Associated Students Inc. coordinates a Farmers' Market every other Tuesday during the school semesters. Local food vendors come together to sell their products and organic produce on campus, which is open to everyone including the local community.


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?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-themed food outlet:

The Gastronome features vegan, vegetarian, and plant-forward menu options at each meal period. Kitchen staff also follows a Food Management process to minimize food waste before it is generated through menu planning, forecasting, ordering, proper portioning, and post-service analysis. The Gastronome also offers a reusable to-go program to reduce single-use waste from to-go meals, and recycles all proper materials back-of-house. Seasonal and local produce is purchased throughout the academic year from a wide variety of local producers, including Babe Farms, Beylik Farms, Cuyama Orchards, and several more.


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:

Aramark tracks multiple categories of sustainable and diverse spend, including local/community based, third party verified, plant-based, minority/woman business enterprise, and more. We are continuing to work with our suppliers and distributors to increase the number of small, woman, and minority owned businesses throughout our supply chain, and report accurate purchasing data to our clients.


Estimated percentage of total food and beverage expenditures on products from disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
1.50

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:

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Dining would often host nutritional sampling events featuring vegan, vegetarian, and plant-forward menu options in the Gastronome. Plant-forward menus are not always vegan by default, but place vegetables or legumes at the center of the plate, with the option to add animal protein on the side.


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:

Vegan entrees and side dishes can be found during all meal periods in the Gastronome. Students can use the Campus Dish dining website to view the weekly menus and filter selections by preference and/or dietary restriction, including vegan and vegetarian options.


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:

All vegan and vegetarian options are clearly labeled on nutrition cards at each station in the Gastronome.


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:

CSUF participates in diverting pre-consumer food waste from landfills through its organics 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.

Assembly Bill No. 1826
http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB1826&search_keywords

California State University Sustainability Policy
H. Sustainable Food
https://calstate.policystat.com/policy/6987526/latest/


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:

Trays have been eliminated from the Gastronome to reduce the amount of post-consumer food waste is generated. Customers are encouraged to only take what they can eat, and they can always go back for more.


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:

Aramark partners with the Food Donation Connection, a national organization that connects our locations to local food rescue agencies within the communities where we operate.


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:

Aramark works with Bakers Commodities to collect and recycle fryer oil from campus for industrial uses. In addition, dining recycles all aluminum, plastics, cardboard, and other proper materials from the Gastronome.


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:

Food trimmings and other pre-consumer waste is collected and weighed in the Gastronome kitchens before being picked up by the campus waste hauler Republic Services. The food waste is transported to a local composting facility.


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:
---

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:

All service ware used for dine-in at the Gastronome is reusable, with items constantly washed in an industrial dishwasher and replenished throughout meal service.


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:

Students can order their to-go meal online, and select to participate in the Eco To-Go program. Dining will collect a $5 deposit at the time of delivery, and the reusable container can be exchanged for a clean and sanitized container each visit.


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 CSUF Starbucks locations offer a $0.10 discount to campus members who bring in their tumbler or mug. Note, due to COVID-19, this has been temporarily paused.


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

Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:
https://csuf.campusdish.com/Sustainability

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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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.