Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 68.61
Liaison Alan Brew
Submission Date Feb. 26, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Northland College
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00
"---" 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:
Chartwells serves as the College's dining services contractor. Chartwells agrees to demonstrate constant, demonstrable progress toward procuring selected food items with the following characteristics: non-national chain or name brand, 100% natural, no artificial sweeteners, low calorie, no preservatives, low sodium, non-GMO, locally or regionally produced/produced, organically grown, low/no trans fats, no use of synthetic fertilizers/pesticides, made without gluten ingredients, low/no cholesterol, certified Kosher, minimal packaging, recyclable packaging, and vegan.

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:
Chartwells supports the College's on-campus food production by preferentially purchasing produce from the College's gardens in quantities mutually agreed upon in advance of each growing season. The College will enter into an indemnification agreement satisfactory to Chartwells as a condition precedent to the use of products grown in the garden in the Food Service Program. Additional produce grown at community farms (often with the help of Northland College students), may also be sold to Chartwells after being processed by the College's Huling Rice Food Center.

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:
Members of the Northland College campus garden crew actively sell produce at the Ashland Farmer's Market, taking place every Saturday throughout the growing season.

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:
Chartwells has one FTE employee that is responsible for having multiple vegan options available at every meal served. We have offered full vegan dining options since 1995.

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:
The cafeteria host multiple meatless days throughout the year--typically they are hosted on Wednesday and called Why Not Wednesday.

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:
At least once per semester we celebrate Local Food Day where we serve as much locally sourced food as possible. Our goal for that day is to reach 80% locally sourced items on our menu, where local is defined as within 100 miles. Once per year a large catered event is hosted called the Harvest Trail Dinner where up to 200 people dine on 100% local foods and beverages in a 5 course served meal.

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:
The food outlet is the Hulings Rice Food Center.

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:
All food items that are served in the cafeteria containing local ingredients are marked with a green circle sticker that says Eat Local. This allows guests to see where local items are being featured during a meal--whether it is a hamburger, lettuce on the salad bar, or just onions in a casserole, there is a visual reminder of where local items can be found on the menu.

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:
Each semester during our Local Foods Day we invite in our producers and local businesses to meet students and inform them about what they do at their respective locations. This helps the students put a face to where their food is coming from, it helps the farmers see their products in an institutional setting, and tells the story of where our food is coming from. We also have pictures in the cafeteria of our farmers, along with a local map of the farms, so students can continually connect their food with places and people. Many of our students also work/volunteer with our local farms and this helps raise the awareness of all the local foods that are being bought and served on our campus.

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:
Chartwells currently uses the tracking program called Waste Not, this keeps track of all products that are wasted thru production, over production, and product loss. These are tracked daily in quarts of waste by each associate and then converted into dollars. These weekly results are then used and compared to help set waste reduction goals throughout the year and raise awareness to waste In each area.

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:
Campus-wide food recovery competitions are student led initiatives. They not only raise awareness of food-related issues, but students learn management and leadership skills by interacting with the local community.

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:
There have been no trays at Northland College for over 10 years.

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:
Northland College students under the guidance of the Food Recovery Network collect excess food leftover after meals from Chartwells and preserve it for usage at The Brick, our local food shelf.

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 plate waste is composted through the Food Processing/Composting Facility on campus (Hulings Rice Food Center). No food materials go to the landfill, sewer, or incinerator.

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:
We track and compost all pre-consumer food waste, and have done so since 1994.

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:
Northland College collects post-consumer food waste for use in our new composting facility. Between July 1, 2017 - December 31, 2017, the College composted about 28,000 pounds of food scraps. This is expected to increase dramatically in the years to come.

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 cafeteria service ware is reusable. Furthermore, service ware used outside the cafeteria for on-campus special events is also reusable.

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:
We have for purchase an eco-clam shell for to-go meals. This is a reusable, commercially washable container. See attachment.

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:
We offer a discount program on beverages if the customer brings in his/her own container. The only way to remove food from the dining area is in one of the eco-containers explained above.

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:
Many of our local vendors pack food in re-usable boxes and containers that we save and return each week to reduce the cost of packaging materials to vendors.

Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
https://www.dineoncampus.com/northland/sustainability

Additional documentation to support the submission:
EcoContainer.jpg

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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