| Overall Rating | Bronze |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 34.83 |
| Liaison | Katie Wall |
| Submission Date | March 24, 2022 |
Lees-McRae College
OP-8: Sustainable Dining
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.88 / 2.00 |
Jeremy
McCosh Director of Operations Food & Dining |
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?:
A brief description of the farmers market, CSA or urban agriculture project:
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:
Seasonal menus and offerings
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?:
A brief description of the support for disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
Fresh produce goes to Avery County Food Bank.
We partner with Fresh point, a distributor that focuses on local produce from around the region within 250 miles. FreshPoint, helps supports us in identifying local farms in the areas and determining local availability, as well as, validate food safe practices.
Estimated percentage of total food and beverage expenditures on products from disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host low impact dining events or promote plant-forward options?:
A brief description of the low impact dining events and/or plant-forward options:
Vegan and vegetarian options are available daily throughout The Summit dining hall, amongst other locations. We feature a “Greens and Grains” station that houses an assortment of Plant Forward options that can be personalized by each person. In addition to these options, we have a dedicated action station that focuses primarily on plant forward entrees, this style of entree shifts the focus away from animal products and instead emphasizes vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and nuts, etc.
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?:
A brief description of the vegan dining program:
VEGAN - Protein based meats, black bean burgers almond and soy milk offerings, dried fruits, fresh fruit and whole fruit daily
Greens & Grains station makes it so anyone can create their own vegan entrées in the residential dining hall. This station contains assorted toppings and proteins that can be customized to relate to everyone.
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?:
A brief description of the sustainability labelling and signage in dining halls:
Yes, we have available signage that highlights our sustainability initiatives. Some examples of signage can include local IDs near ingredients that are sourced locally, information about local sourcing, plant forward eating, and an overview of our sustainability platform.
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?:
A brief description of the food recovery competition or commitment program or food waste prevention system:
We have a system that tracks food waste throughout the dining hall. Through this system, we can identify any trends that exist so that we can best prevent the food from getting wasted in the future.
We also are planning on hosting a Weigh the Waste event in the dining hall where students will sort their food waste as they leave the dining hall into two bins- edible waste and inedible waste. This event serves an educational opportunity to bring awareness to post-consumer food waste.
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:
Trash disposal removed to the impactor added which reduces the amount of food waste in the garbage.
Dining Services has been trayless since 2009. By dining trayless, you have helped positively impact the waste stream. Dining trayless minimizes food waste, conserves energy and water, and reduces the amount of cleaning chemicals entering the waste stream.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor donate food that would otherwise go to waste to feed people?:
A brief description of the food donation program:
Fresh produce goes to Avery County Food Bank.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor divert food materials from the landfill, incinerator or sewer for animal feed or industrial uses?:
A brief description of the food materials diversion program:
One hundred percent of dining services used fryer oil is recycled.
All oil goes to an off-site recycling, third party contractor
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a pre-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program:
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a post-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the post-consumer composting program:
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor utilize reusable service ware for “dine in” meals?:
A brief description of the reusable service ware program:
Yes, everything. We offer reusable plates and utensils for dine-in meals.
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)?:
A brief description of the compostable containers and service ware:
We offer a Reusable To-Go container program free to all Meal Plan holders. Students redeem their first container and then return the box after using and we wash and sanitize the reusable to-go containers. The student picks up a clean container at the same time they deposit a dirty container.
During COVID-19 we got away from this model but are bring it back.
To-go containers are compostable.
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?:
A brief description of the reusable container discount or incentives program:
At Einstein Bagel's there are discounts on coffee cups.
Students are allowed to bring their own reusable items to all dining facilities.
Giveaways included reusable cups/mugs, 300ish/year
A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:
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.