Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 73.94
Liaison Caitlin Steele
Submission Date July 21, 2023

STARS v2.2

San Francisco State University
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 caitlin Steele
Dr of Sust & Energy
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:
San Francisco State holds a weekly farmers market on campus as well as being involved with the Food Recovery Network. The Food Recovery Network is a local non-profit that takes left over food and distributes it to local food banks. Students package up leftovers and bring it to organizations in need.

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:
Sodexo hosts an annual Farm to Fork Event at the Climate Symposium lunch. This lunch provides students, staff, and faculty with a vegetarian and vegan menu with all ingredients that are sourced locally.

In April, there is an earth day related event at the dining center:
Plant a Seed Day.

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:
Sodexo has an initiative to encourage purchasing from woman or BIPOC owned businesses.

URL: https://www.sodexo.com/home/corporate-responsibility/sustainability.html

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:
Sodexo's food offerings at every station include vegan, vegetarian and plant food options. At some stations there is information for the students about the benefits of a plant based diet.

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:
All dining stations have vegan options. There is also a salad bar where students can customize their salads to be vegetarian or vegan. There is a "My Fridge" that has vegan options, e.g. bread, alternative milk.

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:
Sodexo utilizes posters and tv screens to promote sustainability practices throughout its dining halls.

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:
Sodexo has a LeanPath program. Sodexo weighs all food waste and sets goals for reducing that waste. Back of the house food waste and post production food waste are included in those metrics.

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:
Sodexo does not utilize any trays in an effort to reduce food waste. It uses the phrase "eat what you can" instead of "all you can eat."

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:
Sodexo has donated to the Food Recovery Network. The Food Recovery Network is an organization that collects and transports donated foods to local food banks that are in need.

Sodexo donates 2,200 meals every semester to students who have been identified as in need and food insecure.

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:
All waste account holders in the City of San Francisco are required to have composting at all trash collection areas. SFSU and Sodexo compost almost all of its food waste. IT is then taken to REcology's composting site and turned into soil for Napa Wineries.
https://www.recology.com/recology-san-francisco/sf-composts/

San Francisco Public Utility Commission's SF Greasecycle program diverts fats, oils, and grease away from the sewers and recycles it into biodiesel. San Francisco State collects around 18,000 pounds of grease from kitchens each year.

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:
Sodexo uses the three bin system throughout its kitchen. Compost bins are made available to every kitchen with bins made available at every station. The compost in these bins is then transferred to the larger compost bin out in the dock.

https://www.recology.com/recology-san-francisco/sf-composts/

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 compost collected throughout the entire Dining Center is collected by San Francisco’s Recology Department. The compost is then transported to Jepsen Prairie Organics in Vacaville.
https://www.recology.com/recology-san-francisco/sf-composts/

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:
Sodexo only utilizes reusable plates that are cleaned in the dishwasher in the City Eats Dining Center.

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:
Sodexo uses green to go ware for all meals taken out of the dining center. Students return those boxes to be washed in the dishwasher.

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:
Sodexo only offers reusable containers.

Optional Fields

A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
Sodexo also focuses on providing students with a culturally diverse foods. Teppan Eats is one of our five stations that is dedicated to serving Asian influenced cuisine.

Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:
https://sfstate.sodexomyway.com/

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
https://www.sodexo.com/home/corporate-responsibility/sustainability.html

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.