Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 66.71
Liaison Julie Cahillane
Submission Date March 6, 2020

STARS v2.2

Northwestern University
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Sarah Tulga
Sustainability Program Coordinator
Facilities
"---" 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:
Local markets are hosted during the fall and spring quarters to align with the highest volume of seasonal produce available.

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:
Lisa’s Café featuring Plum Market located in Slivka Hall is committed to local and sustainable products. Plum Market’s commitment states, “We are committed to offering the very best selections of All Natural, Organic, Local, and Specialty items in a full-service shopping experience.” They also feature their Miles to Market program which highlight all products sourced less than 350 miles from the store, which demonstrates their commitment to local food. This messaging also reinforces that "Plum Market" within Lisa Cafe is a sustainability-themed food section to our customers.
https://www.plummarket.com/our-commitment/

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:
Garfield Produce is a small-scale microgreen producer in East Garfield Park that focuses on providing jobs for the local community specifically for former felons.
Windy City Harvest is a small-scale business that focuses on healthy community eating and education along with job training for the communities they are in on the South and West sides.
BSD industries is a utensil vendor who focuses on robotics and factory training for their disenfranchised community on the South Side of Chicago, creating jobs for the community.
Co-Op Hot Sauce is a small-scale hot sauce vendor who donates the majority of their profits to theater programs for underprivileged youth in Rodgers Park.

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the low impact dining events and/or plant-forward options:
Northwestern Dining has promoted plant forward and plant based meals through the 21-Day Plant Forward Challenge and has executed Plant Forward station take overs within the Northwestern dining commons.

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:
Vegan menu items are served in every dining commons, retail location and catered event (upon request). In the dining commons, one hot entrée and two side dishes along with a dessert are offered at our Rooted station, with a variety of other vegan options available throughout the dining commons.

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability labelling and signage in dining halls:
In all dining commons, signage is displayed to promote local eating and reducing plate waste.

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the food recovery competition or commitment program or food waste prevention system:
Northwestern students compete in a plate waste competition and we use Waste Not as an internal food waste tracking program.

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:
We do not provide trays at any dining location.

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:
Northwestern Dining partners with Campus Kitchens (a student group) to pick up food and donate it to the Evanston community.

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:
Northwestern Dining partners with a company to clean and then recycle used cooking oil.

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:
All of our food service locations participate in composting.

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:
All Post-consumer food waste is captured at the tray line in all service locations.

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:
At all residential dining locations we have only reusable items and at select retail locations we offer reusable service ware as the default.

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:
At Norris, Northwestern Dining uses BPI certified compostable materials along with a guest facing composting program. In November of 2018, we introduced Ozzi the reusable to-go container program. This program has allowed students to take their food to-go when they are in a rush. Students can exchange their Ozzi for free or return it to get their $5 deposit back.

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the reusable container discount or incentives program:
We offer a 10% discount for individuals who bring their own mug.

Optional Fields

A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
There are several wellness programs at Northwestern Dining, including our Plant Forward Challenge with over 300 student participants, and our monthly super food. We provide an inclusive dining experience by using exclusively Halal chicken and beef, offering two Kosher stations, offering a Pure Eats station, and dining hall which has menu items without the top 9 most common allergens and gluten. We also run a cultural series that highlights important events in various cultures and highlighting chefs from each culture.

Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:
https://www.dineoncampus.com/northwestern/sustainability

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.