Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 69.51
Liaison Kelsey Beal
Submission Date Oct. 31, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Indiana University Indianapolis
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Jessica Davis
Director
Office of Sustainability
"---" 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:
IUPUI's contracted food service provider is Chartwells. Chartwells' corporate sustainability goals can be found here: http://chartwellshighered.com/sustainability/ These goals include the following: - Offering only cage-free eggs and egg products - Only purchase yogurt from cows not treated with rBGH - Only serve chicken and turkey that have been raised with restricted use of antibiotics, especially as a growth additive in feed. Suppliers provide products that adhere to criteria developed in partnership with the Environmental Defense Fund. - First food service company to commit to serving 100% healthier, slower growing chicken by 2024 through the landmark Global Animal Partnerships (GAP) agreement. - Commitment to reduce food waste by 25% by 2020 - In collaboration with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program, Chartwells established a purchasing policy in 2006 that removes unsustainable wild and farmed seafood from our menus.

On-Campus Sourcing 

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:
IUPUI Chartwells sources a portion of its produce from the IUPUI Urban Gardens. Produce grown in the on-campus gardens is grown organically and incorporated back into meals served on campus. More information on the IUPUI Urban Gardens: https://sustainability.iupui.edu/operations/food/index.html

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:
The IUPUI Fresh Produce Market is held the third Thursday of every month and it a partnership of IUPUI Sustainability, Healthy IU, and IUPUI Food Services. There, you can find and purchase a variety of organic herbs, fruits, vegetables, and other food items sourced locally or from the IUPUI Urban Gardens. More information on the IUPUI Fresh Produce Market: https://sustainability.iupui.edu/operations/food/index.html

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:
Meatless Mondays - This program emphasizes vegetarian and vegan cuisine in dining halls on Mondays. Vegan meals are available at all other times as well. Vegan options are available for all catered meals.

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:
Meatless Mondays - This program emphasizes vegetarian and vegan cuisine in dining halls on Mondays. Annual Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Community Dinner, a free meal offered to the PAWS Pantry and other student advocacy served groups. The food for these meals is prepared and served by the Campus Kitchen at IUPUI, a student-powered food rescue and hunger relief organization. Food that would otherwise have gone to waste is rescued from across campus and repurposed into nutritious meals.

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:
Gather at the Table Community Dinners are offered throughout the academic year. These events provide free meals to students in need. The food for these meals is prepared and served by the Campus Kitchen at IUPUI, a student-powered food rescue and hunger relief organization. Food that would otherwise have gone to waste is rescued from across campus and repurposed into nutritious meals.

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:
Simply Puur is a new dining concept at the IUPUI Campus Center. Simply Puur's menu focuses on offering fresh, healthy, sustainable items. "Simply Puur will be offering clean, minimally processed menu selections with a focus on well-being and sustainability. The focus is on clean, local and organic ingredients, with much of the menu being cooked from scratch. These delicious meals are made to fuel the body and mind," said Rachel Jahrsdoerfer, marketing manager for Chartwells at IUPUI. "We will also utilize the Office of Sustainability's community gardens, just like we do with all of our locations." More information on Simply Puur: https://news.iu.edu/stories/2019/03/iupui/inside/28-simply-puur-focuses-on-healthy-food-options.html

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:
Meals in the all-you-care-to-eat dining hall are labeled to indicate vegetarian and vegan options.

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:
IUPUI supports learning and research about sustainable food systems by: - Supporting the IUPUI Urban Gardens, a student-run garden where produce is grown organically and incorporated back into meals on campus - Twice weekly volunteer and education sessions in the IUPUI Urban Gardens available to any student or community member - Courses on urban and suburban gardening, open to any IUPUI student - Courses that utilize the IUPUI Urban Gardens as a space for service learning

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:
- Healthy IU (https://healthy.iu.edu/) is a a university-wide employee wellness program that has resources available for free to all employees. Healthy IU's objectives are to raise awareness, build skills and create an environment where the healthy choice is the easy choice. IU is a complex system; working together we will weave a culture of wellness into the fabric of IU at the individual, departmental, campus, and university-wide levels. - The IUPUI Division of Student Affairs - Health and Wellness, offers the following services to students: General medical services for acute illnesses (like the flu) and injuries (like a sprained ankle) Women’s health services including wellness exams and birth control Immunization services for flu, measles, mumps, rubella, and more Travel clinic services for students and staff members traveling overseas Campus recreation Mental health resources and counseling For more information: https://studentaffairs.iupui.edu/health/index.html

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:
Chartwells tracks all food waste in their facilities through the Waste Not (formerly known as Trim Trax) program. The goal of Waste Not is to track, measure, and reduce food waste to save on hauling costs, production costs, and food 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:
- Go Trayless - Curtails food waste, promotes healthier eating habits through portion control, and reduces the amount of water and energy used for washing the trays. - This academic year, smaller plates were introduced at the all-you-care-to-eat dining location in an effort to curb food waste - The Campus Kitchen at IUPUI rescues quality, unused food and re-purposes it into meals for those experiencing food insecurity. To date, 32,015 lbs of food have been rescued from disposal.

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:
Campus Kitchen at IUPUI utilizes recovered food that would have otherwise gone to waste from Chartwells-run IUPUI Food Service. This food is used to create nutritious meals for clients in the Indianapolis community, including IUPUI's on-campus food pantry. The Campus Kitchen is sponsored by the IUPUI Office of Sustainability.

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:
Cooking oil is collected to be cleaned and recycled.

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 collected for compost from the two kitchens on campus. The food is sent to GreenCycle of Indiana, a local industrial composter.

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:
Any leftover food from catering or the main dining hall that cannot be rescued to feed people by the Campus Kitchen at IUPUI is diverted to compost.

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:
- The dining hall uses reusable service-ware (metal silverware, ceramic dishes, reusable plastic cups) that are washed and re-stocked. - Zero waste catering options are available at IUPUI.

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:
IUPUI Food Services offers a reusable To Go program: http://archive.inside.iupui.edu/features/stories/2015-10-13-dining-to-go.shtml

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?:
No

A brief description of the reusable container discount or incentives program:
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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:
Drop-off catering service switched all the disposable items to 100% recyclable. Lunches can also now be ordered with a reusable tote, rather than a disposable box.

Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
https://sustainability.iupui.edu/operations/food/index.html

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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