Overall Rating	Gold
Overall Score	65.15
Liaison	Emma Blandford
Submission Date	Feb. 29, 2024

STARS v2.2

Georgia Institute of Technology
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status	Score	Responsible Party
	2.00 / 2.00	Emma Blandford Portfolio Manager Office of Sustainability

"---" 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:

GT Community Market: The GT Community Market focuses on featuring Atlanta businesses and farmers and creating educational and awareness opportunities around sustainability and healthy living. Students, faculty, and staff can expect a consistent experience each week when they visit the market, where they can grab lunch, browse local and student vendors, and learn more about the robust community at Georgia Tech centered on sustainability and wellbeing. Guests can expect a diverse offering of local food vendors, student organizations, campus departments, produce vendors, co-op groceries, and even a mobile bike repair shop. It meets weekly during the Fall and Spring semesters.

Farm Share: In spring of 2022, Georgia Tech partnered with Rise ’n’ Shine, a local organic farm working with other local Georgia farms growing organic food, to offer a weekly fresh produce box to the campus community. This is a restart of the previous campus farm share program, with new benefits and a new provider. While produce is always an option, Rise ’n’ Shine also provides pasta, cheese, and milk through its local partners. Boxes start at $30 a week, and people can choose the amount of food they buy. Every Thursday, customers will receive an email of the food they are set to receive along with other products at similar prices.

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?:

Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-themed food outlet:

There is a vegan-themed restaurant on campus that focuses primarily on sustainable food.

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?:

A brief description of the support for disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:

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

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Low-impact dining

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:

GT Dining offers plant-forward meals around 30% of the time.

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:

Vegan meals are available at every dining location and labeled as such.

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?:

Yes

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

Dining customers are engaged on the sustainability of their food in terms of sourcing and the choices made to reduce the carbon impact of dining.

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:

Leanpath is used to reduce food waste in food preparation.

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:

Georgia Tech transitioned to trayless dining in 2007.

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:

Excess food is donated to the Campus Kitchens program, which is sorted and delivered to the Campus Pantry and local food banks.

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?:

A brief description of the food materials diversion program:

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Composting

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:

GT Dining contracts with CompostNow for all organics composting.

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:

GT Dining contracts with CompostNow for all organics composting.

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:

Reusable service ware is used at all community dining locations.

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:

All to-go ware is either reuseable or BPI-certified compostable.

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:

Discounts are available for reusable items. Discounts are also available for customers who bring their own beverage containers.

Optional Fields

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

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Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:

https://dining.gatech.edu/sustainability

Additional documentation to support the submission:

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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

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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.