Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 58.54
Liaison Kevin Miller
Submission Date March 6, 2020

STARS v2.2

Goshen College
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.80 / 2.00
"---" 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:
All of the food included in the CSA share is produced by Merry Lea Sustainable Farm. The farm is located at Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center and includes an educational garden, a market garden, and multiple orchards of fruit and nut trees. A variety of animals have also been raised on the farm including chickens, cattle, goats, and more. Student interns work as farmhands throughout the summer and the students from the Agroecology Summer Intensive work on the farm in order to learn about sustainable agricultural practices.

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:
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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:
Greens for the dining hall are purchased from Yoder Lettuce Farm, which is a local hydroponic farm. https://www.yodersproducefarm.com/

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?:
No

A brief description of the low impact dining events and/or plant-forward options:
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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:
Vegetarian and Vegan options are made available at every meal in the campus dining hall. Because of student interest in promoting vegetarian and vegan diets, it is anticipated that this will be increasing. Currently there are no promotional activities or promotional literature explaining these dietary options, local signs are typically present at each meal offering vegetarian and vegan food.

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:
The dining hall has promotional signs for reusable take-away Tupperware and cups as well as signs to promote composting. Signs are also used to promote healthy food choices and local foods that are being served.

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:
AVI uses a food production optimizing system to reduce overproduction and food waste. A waste log is kept and there are in-production guidelines and checklists in place to make sure each meal is prepared with as little waste as possible. Additionally, food provided to the campus daycare is sent according to exact headcount numbers that are received each morning.

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:
The dining service has removed trays from its serving areas.

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:
Produce and other perishable food items are donated at the end of every semester or beginnings of breaks. The chef fills out inventory with dollar amounts and list of donation items. This has been done every semester for the past ten years

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:
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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:
AVI Fresh collects pre-consumer food waste (and excess food that cannot be reused) in plastic bins before dumping them into the composter box. Anything but liquids or excessive meat can be composted.

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:
Goshen College collects post-consumer waste on a regular basis throughout all seasons.
Types of food collected: Fruits, Vegetables, bread, dairy- anything but excessive meat or liquid can be composted
We also compost the recyclable napkins.

Ecopax is working on a post-consumer waste composting system for the Leaf-Raker, the AVI-run on-campus fast food establishment

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:
Dining hall uses reusable dishes and silverware for all on-site meals.

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:
The Dining Hall and Leaf Raker Cafe use compostable cardboard boxes and have reusable Tupperware and cups that diners can buy and reuse for each meal. The reusable Tupperware containers are rotated so that they can be cleaned when a diner returns the box and the diner is given a fresh clean box.

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:
Goshen College’s Java Junction provides discounts to those who bring their own reuasable coffee cup instead of using one of the provided paper cups (customers only have to pay for a small coffee even though they are getting quantity of a large).

Leaf Raker Cafe provides reusable cups that can be refilled for $.99

Optional Fields

A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
AVI is committed to the health and wellness of their diners and provides a resource called Nutrisource where diners can look up specific nutrition facts for each recipe. As part of this, signs are posted by the salad bar with the nutrition facts of each component so that diners may choose the healthiest salad options and create salads specifically for their dietary needs. Additionally, culturally diverse options are available almost everyday.

Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:
http://www.avifresh.com/

Additional documentation to support the submission:
Vegan.Vegetarian.Full.Menu.GOSHEN 2019 SPRING MENU.xlsx

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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