Overall Rating Bronze - expired
Overall Score 33.07
Liaison Laurie Kman
Submission Date March 6, 2020
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Lewis University
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 John Lerczak
Director of Sustainability
Facilities
"---" 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:
It goes over healthy meal options, sourcing from local farms and community gardens when it is possible.

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:
Whenever possible Sodexo seeks to purchase food from local options.

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:
Every year Sodexo will have a farmer's marker at our campus that is partnered with United Way.

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?:
No

A brief description of the vegan dining program:
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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:
Yes, Sodexo hosts Meatless Mondays in which they will change their menu for that day.

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:
Yes, Sodexo has been hosting Meatless Mondays and will continue to do so.

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:
Yes, currently we have two farmer's fridge locations on campus allowing students, faculty and staff to have more sustainable food options.

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:
We have labels on all of our bins in the dining areas indicating where their waste should go to divert from the landfill. This has helped educate student on making more informed decisions when it comes to their waste.

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:
Yes, Through our various external committee groups we provide the platform to engage in sustainability issues related to food systems.

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:
Yes, Sodexo hosts various events that promote health and wellness for students/staff that educates them on healthier eating habits.

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:
Yes, Sodexo is using the LEAN system to minimizing food waste in their kitchen areas.

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:
Yes, they have changed their menus to reduce portions in order to minimize the amount of food waste in the dining areas.

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:
The Community of Engaged Learning collects food donations year round and delivers them to their partnered food pantry.

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:
All food materials are composted and cooking oil is picked up and recycled from our campus.

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:
A food waste collection program began in October 2013 in our largest dining hall on campus, Charlie's Place. This program asked the kitchen staff to use compost bins for all food and paper waste created during meal prep at the dining hall. In August of 2014, the pre-consumer compost program moved to a new dining hall on campus, The Flight Deck, that began to host the catering and prep program for all campus dining halls. Currently both dining halls are still using the composting program.

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:
In April 2014, Lewis University began collecting post-consumer food scraps at the largest dining hall on campus, Charlie's Place. Waste stations are placed throughout the dining hall with separate slots for food scraps, recyclables and landfill items. Faculty, staff, students and visitors use the dining hall year round and all are asked to sort their waste. In 2016, a post-consumer food scrap collection program began at the Flight Deck, as a natural progression of the pre-consumer program already in place at the building.

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:
Yes, they use glass plates and metal utensils for the Lewis community to use instead of only disposable utensils.

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:
Yes, the "to-go" meal containers are compostable and helps to minimize the amount of waste going into the landfill.

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:
Yes, we have a reusable mug program on campus where if they bring their mug they receive a discount when purchasing liquid drinks. We also have a reusable container initiative where students are encouraged to bring in their reusable container for our all you can eat option.

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:
They have changed some of their packaging to minimize the amount of waste going to the landfill, such as some of their disposable cups they changed vendors to reduce the impact.

Optional Fields 

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