Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 58.33
Liaison Michael Amadori
Submission Date March 1, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Hobart and William Smith Colleges
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Sarah Meyer
Food Systems Program Manager
Finger Lakes Institute
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1: Sustainable Dining Initiatives 

Sustainable Dining Policy

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

A brief description of the sustainable dining policy:
HWS Dining Services actively participates in Sodexo’s Sustainability Program; Better Tomorrow Starts Today Program. The Better Tomorrow Plan is something that Sodexo does each and every day to improve the communities we serve. The Better Tomorrow Plan focuses on four categories; People, Health, Community Planet, which each category is broken down into subcategories. Subcategory For our People focuses on fostering diversity and inclusion, respecting human rights, and achieving world class health and safety standards. For your health focuses on developing and promoting health and wellness solutions. For your community focuses on supporting local community development and increasing fairly traded certified purchases. For our plant focuses on sourcing local, seasonal, or sustainably grown and raised products, reducing our carbon footprint, water footprint, organic waste, and non-organic waste.

On-Campus Sourcing 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor source food from a campus garden or farm?:
No

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

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:
Since 2013, the Finger Lakes Institute Food Systems Program coordinate a campus farmer's market each fall during HWS Food Week and each spring during HWS Earth Week. Various local farmers and food vendors, as well as Sodexo and other campus sustainability clubs and offices, are invited to participate in the campus farmer's market. http://www.hws.edu/studentlife/hwsfoodweek.aspx

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:
The main dining hall has a vegetarian line that always offers a vegan option. In addition, students may select a variety of self-serve options, ranging from oatmeal to salads, which are available throughout the day. HWS Sodexo is rated A by peta2 for the quality of service at our Basil Vegan station, offering daily menu variety throughout the academic year. HWS Sodexo offers Mindful options which include vegan items. Mindful offerings meet stringent nutritional criteria based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Each Mindful item is limited in calories, has fewer than 30% of calories from fat, fewer than 10% of calories from saturated fat, and is restricted in sodium and cholesterol. Mindful vegan offerings contain no meat, fish, eggs, milk or other animal-derived products such as honey.

Low-Impact Dining Events 

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:
Every Monday is Meatless Monday, where dining services menu is primarily made up of 60% vegetarian and/or vegan options offered Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. Wellness Wednesdays are another HWS Dining Services sustainability themed dining event, where the menu is primarily made up of healthy entrees. Dining Services mindful entrees limit sugar, dairy, fat, and calories.

Sustainability-Themed Meals 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host sustainability-themed meals (e.g. local harvest dinners)?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-themed meals:
HWS Dining services hosts various sustainability-themed meals, including, but not limited to Farm-to-table, which features locally sourced entrees; apple fest, which features locally sourced fruit; and breads and spreads, which features locally sourced condiments and freshly baked, in house, breads.

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:
HWS Dining services offers, 7 days a week for lunch and dinner, one vegetarian and one vegan option at their Basil Station line. HWS Dining Services also offers local bagels, dairy, fish, and apple all day, every day in our resident dining hall. In Retail units, HWS Dining Services offers local juices and dairy products, including but not limited to, Red jacket Juices, Chaboni Yogurts, and Karma Wellness Water.

Labeling and Signage 

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:
Posters are hung daily in the dining hall, vegan/vegetarian labels are used to identify vegetarian and vegan entrees on HWS dining services daily menus, local foods labeled are also used throughout the dining hall, which highlight our in-season food products, such as local dairy products (offered everyday-all day), fruit from local orchards such as red jacket, and freshly baked, in –house, pastries, breads, and doughs.

Outreach and Education 

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:
HWS Dining Services has implemented our LeanPath program, which tracks our daily waste and provides areas where we can improve, reducing our organic waste. Weigh the waste is another program where students can actually see the amount of organic and non-organic waste that they may waste on a daily basis.

Other Initiatives 

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:
HWS Dining Services resident dining hall recently installed a Trayless dish return line, which has helped save water and energy. HWS Resident Dining Hall has also recently banned all plastic straws, and started purchasing compostable wax paper liners for our grill line.

Part 2: Food and Dining Waste 

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:
HWS Dining Services has implemented and sustained our LeanPath program, which tracks our daily waste and provides areas where we can improve, reducing our organic waste.

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:
There is only one dining hall on campus. It was just renovated over the summer of 2017 and is 100% trayless. http://www2.hws.edu/hws-opens-new-dining-facilities-2/

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:
All surplus food at kitchen closedowns is donated to local charities. We have donated to Catholic Charities Soup Kitchen, St. Mary's Church, and House of Concern in recent years. We have also donated soup and bread to the Catholic Charities for their annul Empty bowls program, which spreads hunger awareness. Around holidays, Salvation Army, center of concern for Geneva, Donation at breaks periods.

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 (e.g. converting cooking oil to fuel, on-site anaerobic digestion)?:
Yes

A brief description of the food materials diversion program:
HWS Dining Services participates in composting through Natural Upcycle, where our kitchen staff is properly trained to compost food scraps, and our dishwashers are trained as well, to compost food scraps and other compostable materials from customers.

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:
All pre-consumer food waste is captured by Dining Services and diverted to compost totes easily accessible to the kitchen. The newly implemented Lean Path has also identified ways to decrease pre-consumer waste.

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:
Compost receptacles for food scraps and napkins are located at all retail dining facilities as a part of a 3-bin waste collection system. Post-consumer food waste in the HWS main dining hall is managed by the dishline staff. The organics are pulped and diverted to compost totes.

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:
Yes, HWS Dining Services Resident dining hall only uses reusable service ware, plates, bowls, cups, and other cutlery. In HWS retail units, compostable and recyclable utensils, containers, and beverage cups are used when washable reusable service ware is not applicable, especially with to-go 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:
Yes, HWS Dining Services Resident dining hall only uses reusable service ware, plates, bowls, cups, and other cutlery. In HWS retail units, compostable and recyclable utensils, containers, and beverage cups are used when washable reusable service ware is not applicable, especially with to-go meals.

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:
Yes, HWS Dining Services has a discounted rate for majority of beverage refills (all beverages except specialty beverages for food safety reasons) when using a reusable tumbler in our retail units.

Other Materials Management Initiatives 

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:
HWS Dining Services has recently implemented a New fryer Oil System, which is recycled to make bio-fuel and such.

Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
https://hwsdining.sodexomyway.com/explore/sustainability

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Hobart and William Smith students kicked off the fall 2017 semester with an enhanced dining experience at the Scandling Campus Center that includes new spaces, food stations and increased functionality. The newly revamped facility includes upgrades to the main dining hall and servery such as a larger, more open dining environment with additional student seating and a new common room to support faculty, staff and campus gatherings. A new allergy friendly zone has been created and includes “Simple Servings,” which provides food choices for those with allergies or gluten intolerance, while “My Zone” has been designed as a “pantry” where food items needed by those with allergies or special considerations can be housed with precautions against cross-contamination. To accommodate the busy lives of students, there’s also a new simply-to-go option. The project has followed LEED principles and includes elements that reflect the Colleges’ commitment to sustainability and the environment. These features include environmentally sensitive finishes (paint, carpets, flooring, wood), LED lighting for new fixtures, energy efficient equipment, trayless dining and a new dishwasher that saves both energy and water consumption. In partnership with the IT Services, the space now features more robust wifi and more electrical outlets for charging convenience.

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.