| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 68.35 |
| Liaison | Jessica Bast |
| Submission Date | Aug. 9, 2022 |
North Carolina State University
OP-8: Sustainable Dining
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Jessica
Bast Sustainability Program Coordinator University Sustainability Office |
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:
Dining helps pay for the farm manager at the NCSU agroecology farm. The food grown there goes to the Interfaith food shuttle and feeds the homeless. Additionally, students are able to donate meal swipes to the campus food bank for others to use.
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:
Elements Cafe, located in Jordan Hall, uses only compostable packaging, utensils, etc. to promote and encourage the vision of the College of Natural Resources.
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:
Dining buys product from local business ranging in size such as Neomonde, Manhattan Bakery, Flowers Bread, Saladelia, and Makus Empanadas.
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:
NC State Dining offers plant-forward options regularly, but also hosts the All Carolina's Meal once per semester, featuring only foods sourced locally with all compostable cutlery. Additionally, Fountain Dining Hall participates in Meatless March by offering primarily plant-forward options on Mondays during the month.
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:
The health and wellness program under NC State Dining offers nutrition resources, education, and awareness for those with dietary restrictions, including vegan. Vegan friendly foods are marked with a green sticker labeled VN at all dining facilities. Dining offers daily vegan and vegetarian options at the dining halls, including plant-based entrees, customizable stations, and vegan desserts.
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:
NC State Dining uses cards in the napkin dispensers as an easy and accessible way to inform students of different sustainability practices currently in place on campus.
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:
Dining uses a food management program called CBORD to forecast meals based on the number of students fed. This information is based on historic data, as well as real-time updates for future use. This helps reduce waste by not overproducing.
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:
Beginning in 2008, NC State permanently removed trays from the dining halls. With this change, Dining conserves an average of 51,000 gallons of water weekly.
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:
Dining coordinates with the Feed the Pack food pantry on campus, as well as the Interfaith Food Shuttle to minimize food waste after major catering events and end of semester University closures.
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:
NC State Dining works with GreaseCycle to collect and upcycle oil waste into biodiesel fuel and composting soil.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a pre-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program:
Prep in the kitchens attributes to about half of all compost produced in the dining locations.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a post-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the post-consumer composting program:
NC State began a composting initiative at its dining halls in August 2010 and at One Earth in Talley Student Union in 2014. The initiative became a reality when an audit by Waste Reduction and Recycling found that 70% of waste generated by Fountain Dining Hall was compostable.
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:
NC State Dining has integrated all reusable dinnerware in the dining halls to reduce waste from disposables.
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:
NC State's dining hall take-out program, Pack&Go, features a reusable and recyclable take out container that can be used in our dining halls in exchange for a meal credit. Since March 2009, this program has diverted more than 208,500 styrofoam to-go containers from the landfill.
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:
The coffee shops utilize a 10 cent discount when customers bring their own cup. In the Dining halls we utilize reusable green to go containers for takeout meals.
A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
Dining works with the student-coordinated Food Recovery Network. Through this, students take leftover food from the dining halls to Interfaith Food Shuttle and distribute this to the downtown area to help feed those in need.
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.