Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 72.08
Liaison Aaron Klemm
Submission Date March 6, 2020

STARS v2.2

San Jose State University
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.80 / 2.00 Paul Cingolani
Director of Operations
Spartan Eats
"---" 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:
CSA: Compass Group is both an acting member of the Marine Stewardship Council. Compass Group works directly with the Monterey Bay Seafood Watch for purchasing mandates.

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 Dining Commons has recently been certified as part of the Green Restaurant Association and complies with Compass Group's mandate for farm to fork purchasing through our distributors, as well as follows all of FoodBuy purchasing guidelines as outlined in our sustainability and purchasing reports.

https://www.compass-usa.com/our-story-2018-corporate-social-responsibility-report/

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?:
No

A brief description of the support for disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
---

Estimated percentage of total food and beverage expenditures on products from disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
---

Low-impact dining

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host low impact dining events or promote plant-forward options?:
No

A brief description of the low impact dining events and/or plant-forward options:
---

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:
Compass Group - Spartan Eats at SJSU - follow strict guidelines in menu composition which will allow for identified vegan options at the various eateries across the campus.

Spartan Eats Catering features a large variety of Vegan options for larger groups.

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 our main dining hall, we promote sustainable purchasing and practices by highlighting:
- Locally sourced produce
- Cage free eggs
- Antibiotic/hormone free beef and milk products
- Food waste analysis - how much saved over the year

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:
Spartan Eats/Compass Group utilizes our nationally trained Waste Not program. This utilizes specific transparent and marked waste receptacles which offer chefs the opportunity to work with cooks to minimize waste. This waste is weighed by product and tracked in a financial system to analyze waste and opportunities over the course of the year.

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:
All SJSU dining facilities remain tray-less.

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:
Spartan Eats/Compass Group at SJSU donates:
- day-old breads, pastries and snacks to several clubs on site which provide breakfast and snacks for hungry students daily
- product and cash donations to the new Spartan Food Pantry
- product to local charities, churches, and donation banks
- mandatory volunteer time at the local Second Harvest Food Bank
- Encourages students to donate meal swipes through the Swipe out Hunger program

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?:
No

A brief description of the food materials diversion program:
---

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:
Spartan Eats continues to collect pre-consumer food waste from its various food preparation locations. This pre-consumer food waste is then composted in the Associated Students Community Garden on campus.

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:
Spartan Eats collects post-consumer food waste from the Dining Commons and deposits in containers serviced by GreenWaste Recovery, Inc. composting program. All other food waste on campus is collected in single-stream bins and sorted off-site by GreenWaste Recovery where it is then composted in a commercial composting faciltiy.

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:
We offer:
- reusable service ware at our dining commons/residence halls
- sell for a small price reusable cutlery kits for purchase at all retail locations

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:
Spartan Eats provides reusable baskets, plates, and mugs which are returned, cleaned, and re-used by students in residence halls. As a result of this, to-go packaging purchases have been greatly reduced within the residence halls. All to-go plates, utensils, and cups on campus are Eco Products and are compostable. They are composted off-site in a commercial composting facility.

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:
Spartan Eats offers a reusable mug discount in all its facilities on campus. Upon using your refillable mug, you are entitled to a $0.50 discount for that item. Spartan Eats also offers the eco-friendly Green Containers for a one-time purchase that can be used at the dining commons and is very popular at the resident halls.

Optional Fields

A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
Please see below.
- Waste Not
- Imperfectly Perfect Produce
- Local Sourcing

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.