Overall Rating Bronze - expired
Overall Score 38.32
Liaison Rachelanne Knoll
Submission Date March 30, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Eastern Kentucky University
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.75 / 2.00 Debbie Namugayi
Sustainability Manager
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a published sustainable dining policy?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainable dining policy:

Aramark dining has a program called Green Thread that is used to communicate its sustainability programs. In addition, there are "in house" programs that EKU Dining promotes through in unit marketing, i.e. "Straw Wars" (eliminating plastic straws (though available on request)).


Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor source food from a campus garden or farm?:
Yes

A brief description of the program to source food from a campus garden or farm:

EKU Dining works with the EKU Meadowbrook Farm to co-ordinate transportation of EKU Farm cattle to an offsite processor for use on campus.


Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host a farmers market, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery program, and/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:

EKU hosts the Madison County Farmers Market in the Alumni Coliseum parking each week during the growing season and provides on campus CSA delivery to members of a handful of local CSA programs.


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?:
No

A brief description of the vegan dining program:

Case Dining does provide vegetarian options for every meal. In the new facility, a strictly vegetarian station has been set up with it's own pans and utensils. This program does offer Vegan options but not at every meal.


Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host low impact dining events (e.g. Meatless Mondays)?:
Yes

A brief description of the low impact dining events:

Meals highlighting vegetarian and Vegan options are done 2 to 3 times a semester.


Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host sustainability-themed meals (e.g. local harvest dinners)?:
No

A brief description of the sustainability-themed meals:
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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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Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor inform customers about low impact food choices and sustainability practices through labeling and signage in dining halls?:
Yes

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

Through the Green Thread program, low impact/sustainable food choices are communicated. Media communicating impact of meat production, non-ethical farm practices, etc are posted in the Case Dining.


Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor engage in outreach efforts to support learning and research about sustainable food systems?:
Yes

A brief description of the outreach efforts to support learning and research about sustainable food systems:

Through the Green Thread program, various educational items are promoted. In addition, an ongoing weigh the waste program is tracking, and communicating to the guests, the amount of food that is being wasted through consumer waste to promote portion control, good eating choices, etc.


Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have other sustainability-related initiatives (e.g. health and wellness initiatives, making culturally diverse options available)?:
Yes

A brief description of the other sustainability-related dining initiatives:

The dining contractor has expanded it menu choices to embrace many items new to the campus through our menu rotation in addition to the new vegetarian station. Highlighting Indian, Turkish, Ethiopian, and African foods are some of these examples.


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:

Aramark tracks it's pre-consumer, production, and post-production waste through a program called Lean Path. All waste is weighed and tracked through a scale/camera system that reports waste on a daily basis for comparison from day-to-day, week-to-week, etc. In conjunction with the in unit program of tracking consumer waste, the contractor is able to give accurate food waste numbers for comparison and use to educate consumers and employees.


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 and plate size reduced to encourage smaller portions


Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor donate food that would otherwise go to waste to feed people?:
No

A brief description of the food donation program:
---

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor divert food materials from the landfill, incinerator or sewer for animal feed or industrial uses (e.g. converting cooking oil to fuel, on-site anaerobic digestion)?:
Yes

A brief description of the food materials diversion program:

Fryer oil is recycled. A food waste pulper/water press is used for the residential restaurant, but there currently are no composting providers that service the area.


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:

A food waste pulper/water press is used for the residential restaurant, but there currently are no composting providers that service the area.


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:

A food waste pulper/water press is used for the residential restaurant, but there currently are no composting providers that service the area.


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:

The residential dining facility has moved to completely re-usable serviceware, including eliminating 90% of the straw usage and reducing napkin consumption.


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:

The take out container program utilizes reusable to go containers that are purchased initially then switched out upon return next visit.


Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor offer discounts or other incentives to customers who use reusable containers (e.g. mugs) instead of disposable or compostable containers in “to-go” food service operations?:
Yes

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

Locations offer discounts when using reusable coffee cups.


Has the institution or its primary dining services contractor implemented other materials management initiatives to minimize waste not covered above (e.g. working with vendors and other entities to reduce waste from food packaging)?:
Yes

A brief description of other dining services materials management initiatives:

Beverage vendor switching from non-recyclable packaging to 100% recyclable packaging for the Coke Freestyle machine


The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Ryan Alan - Aramark/EKU Dining


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.