Rollins College
OP-8: Food Recovery
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
Reporter |
8.1 Food recovery program
Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the institution’s surplus food donation program:
Yes. Rollins Dining donates all its surplus foods that have not been put on the service line (as those are ineligible per health code standards). A dedicated freezer is kept in the kitchen and employees ensure all surplus is properly packaged and ready for transport. The food is collected by the donation center once per week. In addition, the campus C-store donates dry goods to a student food pantry in quantities requested from student life division to mitigate student hunger.
Do the institution’s dining services divert pre-consumer food waste from disposal for processing and use as animal feed, compost, and/or biofuel?:
Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the institution’s pre-consumer food waste diversion program:
Rollins Dining uses an ORCA biodigester, a state-of-the-art system that transforms food waste into a usable liquid within 24 hours. Thanks to a unique natural biological process, the resulting effluent seamlessly flows through the existing plumbing system, ready to be further recycled at wastewater treatment plants. There, the nutrients are extracted and converted into renewable biogas or used for land application.
Do the institution’s dining services divert post-consumer food waste from disposal for processing and use as animal feed, compost, and/or biofuel?:
Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the institution’s post-consumer food waste diversion program:
Do the institution’s dining services track and assess their food and organic materials management efforts on at least an annual basis to inform ongoing improvements?:
Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the institution’s food and organic materials management tracking and assessment initiatives:
Rollins Dining utilizes WasteWatch by Leanpath, a food waste reduction program that uses data to help identify and reduce food waste. The program is designed to help Rollins Dining meet its sustainability goals and reduce costs. Employees weigh food waste and track its origin using a WiFi-connected device. The program provides insights into what and why food is being wasted and allows teams to use the insights to implement changes to reduce food waste. For instance, in 2022 Rollins recorded $10,438 in food waste, $7,089 of which was due to overproduction and $1,346 due to poor handling and cooking. After making strategic changes in the kitchen, 2023 food waste numbers fell to $2,406, of which $2,060 was due to overproduction and none was due to handling/cooking.
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following figure:
Optional documentation
Additional documentation for this credit:
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.