Overall Rating	Gold - expired
Overall Score	67.50
Liaison	Kelsey Beal
Submission Date	Feb. 26, 2020

STARS v2.2

Indiana University Bloomington
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status	Score	Responsible Party
	2.00 / 2.00	Rahul Shrivastav Director of Dining IU Dining

"---" 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:

Hilltop Garden is located on the IU campus and is an urban agriculture education space. The Garden hosts Bug Fest annually, an opportunity for children in the community to learn about urban agriculture, food production, compost, and creatures that live in gardens.

https://hilltop.indiana.edu/

IU Dining also supports the IU Farm: https://iufarm.indiana.edu/index.html

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?:

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:

IU Dining purchases local produce, meat, and poultry from small or medium-sized enterprises such as Heartland Family Farms, Gunthorp Farms, and UGo Bars.

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

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:

Collins dormitory hosts meatless Mondays and IU chefs have received training from the Humane Society's Forward Food initiative.

The Office of Sustainability also has a Green Event program that encourages a variety of sustainability practices included vegan/vegetarian options and ways to reduce food waste: https://sustain.iu.edu/programs/green-events/Green-Event-Guide-Final3.pdf

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:

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. Farmers Table offers regular and egg white omelets with veggies, as well as garden burgers. Also, the stir-fry at Eastern Harvest offers tofu as a protein option. The Chile Garlic, Sesame, Teriyaki, Chili Oil, and Sweet & Sour sauces do not contain animal products. The breakfast bars 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. In the Bookmarket Eatery, there are vegan and vegetarian burger options daily and a vegan panini and soup option.

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:

There is signage advertising and encouraging use of re-usable cups available to students at the dining halls. There are also occasionally signs advertising if a food ingredient is sourced locally.

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:

Food from catered events is donated to the Campus Kitchen.

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?:

A brief description of the trayless dining or modified menu/portion program:

Only a couple dining areas are trayless.

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:

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. Campus Kitchen, a student led organization takes in leftover food to make into meals to feed students.

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?:

Yes

A brief description of the food materials diversion program:

Cooking oil is converted to fuel.

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:

Pre-consumer food waste from a number of dining locations is sent to Green Earth, a large scale compost facility located in Bloomington.

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:

Composting is done offsight at Green Earth, about 10 miles outside of campus.

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:

Collins Living-Learning Center serves primarily on reusable service-ware (metal silverware, ceramic dishes)

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:

Collins uses reusable dishware. Most dining halls also have compostable containers supplied by World Centric, a certified compostable container manufacturer.

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:

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.

Optional Fields

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

Healthy IU - vending machines

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

http://www.rps.indiana.edu/menushours.cfml

Additional documentation to support the submission:

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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

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