Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 46.12
Liaison Kristina Hope
Submission Date March 1, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Knox College
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.88 / 2.00 Deborah Steinberg
Director of Campus Sustainability Initiatives
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:
Bon Appetit's commitments include: Supporting local agriculture (with a defined purchasing target), since 1999 Striving to serve only seafood that meets Seafood Watch® sustainability guidelines for commercial buyers, since 2002 Reducing antibiotic use in farm animals (2003) Serving rBGH-free milk (2003) Switching to cage-free shell eggs (2005) and cage-free liquid eggs (2016) Tackling food’s role in climate change (2007) Addressing farmworkers’ rights (2009) Switching to humanely raised ground beef (2012) Phasing out pork raised with gestation crates (early 2016)

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:
The Knox Farm, a student-run on campus farm, provides dining services with more than 2,000 pounds of food each year.

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?:
No

A brief description of the farmers market, CSA or urban agriculture project:
---

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:
32% of all in-house, recipe-based prepared meal plan/cafeteria items are vegan. This figure does not include salad bar or prepared items purchased. Signage on all cafeteria food includes information on vegetarian/vegan appropriateness.

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:
Once per term the campus cafeteria hosts a Meatless Monday.

Sustainability-Themed Meals 

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:
---

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:
---

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:
Foods are labeled if they are vegan, gluten free, or purchased from a local farmer. Posters hung throughout out the cafeteria discuss sustainable dining choices and purchasing.

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:
Knox promotes education about sustainable food systems in its course offerings (urban agriculture class offered twice per year) and by student organizations (Food Recovery Network's Weigh the Waste campaign, and Students for Sustainability hosting microgreens workshops).

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:
Dining services contractor hosts workshops where they model healthy cooking suggestions and techniques for students. Knox also hosts a week long International Fair each fall term, the end of which is celebrated with an international food fair.

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?:
No

A brief description of the food recovery competition or commitment program or food waste prevention system:
---

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:
All dining services establishments have been trayless since 2008.

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:
In 2015, a chapter of the Food Recovery Network was established that takes edible, leftover food that will not be re-served to local shelters. Dry food-goods collected from residence halls during campus move-out are also brought to the local women's shelter.

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:
Food waste is diverted from the landfill and processed through a dehydrator. The "dry waste" is used by the Knox Farm and the remainder is donated to a local farmer to compost and use as a soil amendment.

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 waste is used by a local farmer.

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:
The college began using a dehyrdator in 2011, which runs daily to sanitize and dehydrate post-consumer waste from the cafeteria. The dry waste is used by the Knox Farm and a local farmer as 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:
Dine-in meals are served on washable dishes and flatware.

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 "Eco Clamshell" program began in September 2008 and allows all students to borrow and return reusable & washable to-go containers for board plan meals. Dining services also purchases compostable dishware for the snack bar and special events, so that they can be processed in the on-campus compost system.

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 mugs available for purchase in all retail locations allow for discount refills on both hot and cold beverages.

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:
A water cooler and washable cups are provided for faculty and board meetings, instead of plastic water bottles. Many special events are catered in-house, so food packaging is minimized.

Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
https://www.knox.edu/offices/sustainability/food-systems

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
---

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.