Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 68.01
Liaison Kelsey Beal
Submission Date March 2, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Indiana University Bloomington
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.88 / 2.00 Daniel Knudsen
Professor and Chair, Department of Geography
Geography
"---" 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:

Go Green
Everything that we need for our survival and well-being depends on our natural environment. To support sustainability, we're working to:
improve our waste reduction through recycling and composting, and
source ingredients and menu items locally and regionally
Not only do these activities benefit the environment, they also benefit our community and provide you the freshest foods possible.

http://www.dining.indiana.edu/gogreen.cfml


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:

We provide Hilltop Gardens with over 300 gallons (or about 1,500 pounds) of pre-consumer food waste for composting each week. To accomplish this, our staff actively search for any compostable materials such as fruit rinds, coffee grinds and filters, egg shells, and leftover vegetables. These waste items are transported to Hilltop Gardens, where they are composted.
Composting has many benefits, like:
Sending less waste to landfills
Producing less methane gas from landfills, which causes global warming
Providing free fertilizer for gardens
Hilltop Gardens uses this compost on its fruit and vegetable gardens. Some of the produce from these gardens then comes back to us to create a full-circle operation in sustainability.

http://www.indiana.edu/~landscap/hilltop/about/index.shtml


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:

The IU Campus Garden Initiative currently oversees one edible gardening space on the IU Bloomington campus: The Hilltop Garden.

http://www.indiana.edu/~sustain/programs/campus-garden-initiative/index.php


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:

Bloomington, Indiana has been ranked as the “4th Most Veg-Friendly Small City in North America" and Indiana University Bloomington has been ranked as the Most Vegetarian-Friendly College in America, and are regularly ranked in the top ten vegetarian-friendly universities every year.

Students with VegIU put together a Guide to Vegetarian Eating on IU Campus and Vegetarian Restaurant Options in Bloomington list. Some examples of vegetarian and vegan dining options include:
The Eat Right dining concept (RPS) features a vegan or vegetarian entrée at least twice each week. Flamingo’s Grill offers regular and egg white omelets with veggies, as well as garden burgers. Also, the stir-fry at Pacific Rim offers tofu as a protein option. The Chile Garlic, Sesame, Teriyaki, Chili Oil, and Sweet & Sour sauces do not contain animal products. The Eat Right breakfast bar at Wright, Gresham, and Read Hoosier Café is available Monday-Friday from 7-10 a.m., and offers fresh fruit, low fat yogurt, homemade granola lightly sweetened with honey, and hot cereal.  Edmondson Dining Room at Collins specializes in vegetarian and vegan fare and  serves a variety of soups, salads, entrees, and desserts appropriate for the vegan or  vegetarian diet. Landes Dining Room at Read offers a vegetarian option daily and  serves a vegan dessert at least once a week.

A more complete list of vegetarian and vegan options can be found at:
http://www.indiana.edu/~vegiu/eating-on-campus.php.


Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host low impact dining events (e.g. Meatless Mondays)?:
No

A brief description of the low impact dining events:
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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:

There is signage advertising and encouraging use of re-usable cups available to students at the dining halls.


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:

Every year IU hosts Big Red Eats Green, which is an effort to show IU students where they can find local food and eat in a sustainable way.


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:

Healthy IU - vending machines


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:

Pre-consumer food waste from most dining facilities goes to the Hilltop Garden and Nature Center (on campus), where it is composted and used in the garden.


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:

Most but not all of the dining halls use a trayless dining program. This ensures students take only what they can carry, resulting in less excess food and less food waste.


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:

Residential Programs and Services (RPS) dining has worked with Hoosier Hills Food Bank for many years. RPS strives to use all of the food items purchased, but there are times when it is necessary to call the Food Bank for pick up so items are not wasted. Tudor Room in the Indiana Memorial Union, and the Hoosier Room at Athletics, also donate leftover food to the Food Bank or other local organizations.


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:

Cooking oil


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:

Pre-consumer food waste from a number of dining locations is sent to Hilltop Garden and Nature Center (on campus) for composting and use in the garden.


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:

Post-consumer composting is done at a number of IU Athletics events, but at this time, not in the primary dining locations on campus.


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:

Some facilities serve primarily on reusable service-ware (metal silverware, ceramic dishes), including Collins Living-Learning Center, and the Woodlands in Forrest Quadrangle.


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)?:
No

A brief description of the compostable containers and service ware:
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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:

Reusable containers can be filled with soda or tea for just 59 cents at any Residential Programs and Services dining location. There is also a discount on coffee purchases with reusable mugs.


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:

IU Convenience stores sell refillable water bottles and reusable bags to minimize plastic waste.


The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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