Overall Rating Bronze - expired
Overall Score 31.69
Liaison Elizabeth Masuen
Submission Date Aug. 30, 2021

STARS v2.2

Metropolitan Community College
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.35 / 2.00 Sally Hopley
Coordinator of Sustainable Practices
Campus Planning and Sustainability
"---" 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:
At the end of the quarter, our ICA hosts a market in which we sell items that have been used as teaching tools all quarter or items that have been specifically prepared for our end of the quarter market. Such items include fresh flowers, honey, and plants from our horticulture and land systems management program as well as pastry's, prepared meats, pastas, and other such items from our culinary program.

Our Horticulture Department is also included urban ag, as it is a 1-acre farm located in our main campus in an urban setting. Students experience how to grow and maximize production which using organic farming methods.

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:
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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:
Yes. The Culinary department works with multiple small business farms in addition to our Horticulture department to source food. However, the majority of their purchases are from major suppliers- Sysco and Alfredos.

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

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host low impact dining events or promote plant-forward options?:
No

A brief description of the low impact dining events and/or plant-forward options:
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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:
As the dining service is part of the Culinary curriculum and menus are constantly changing, menu items are not labeled; however, the kitchen will accommodate customers upon request.

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?:
No

A brief description of the sustainability labelling and signage in dining halls:
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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?:
No

A brief description of the food recovery competition or commitment program or food waste prevention system:
Our Culinary program, which operates our dining room, has great expertise and experience in purchasing the proper amount of food to meet the needs of our dining room. However, we do not currently track our food waste, but students are taught about the importance of reducing food waste as a part of the program. The program also collects food waste for industrial composting collecting.

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?:
No

A brief description of the trayless dining or modified menu/portion program:
We currently do not have a program to track and reduce post-consumer food waste in our dining room service as we do not have traditional dining halls, but have a student-run restaurant.

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 Institute for Culinary Arts provides donations within the parameters of the State Health Department whenever possible. There are a number of organizations within the local area that are recipients of excess food either from on and off-campus events and classroom demonstrations.

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:
MCC is partners with the local Omaha Biofuels co-op to provide biofuels for a local organization that is often used to run biodiesel vehicles.

Food waste is also collected for commercial recycling.

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 is collected as a part of our industrial compost collection 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:
The College's culinary institute, including the student-run restaurant, is a part of the industrial compost collection program. The College's other dining services contractor is not a part of the post-consumer composting program. We do not have a dining hall.

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:
All dine-in meals are served using reusable service ware and napkins, as it is a sit-down restaurant open to the public.

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 student-run restaurant offers compostable containers for the rare to-go order and they use compostable wear for the catering events handled by the culinary institute, including our kid's camp program.

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?:
No

A brief description of the reusable container discount or incentives program:
Not available at this time.

Optional Fields

A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
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Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:
https://www.mccneb.edu/Academics/Programs-of-Study/Culinary-Hospitality-and-Horticulture/Culinary-and-Hospitality/Sage-Student-Bistro

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
This section has been completed with the help of the Executive Director of the ICA, Brian O'Malley and the Horticulture liason.

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.