Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 75.64
Liaison Yolanda Cieters
Submission Date March 2, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Seattle University
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Phillip Thompson
Director
CEJS
"---" 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:
Sustainability is at the heart of the dining/food&beverage program managed by Bon Appetit at Seattle University. Bon Appetit has a goal to source at least 20% of ingredients, by dollar, from small, local, owner operated farmers and artisans; prioritize plant-based proteins in the café and offer vegetarian options at every meal; cook from scratch, including stocks, sauces, and soups; prevent and minimize waste in a number of ways; purchase only cage-free and third party certified eggs, pork raised without the use of gestation crates, and ground beef from Certified Humane operations or small, local farmers. Bon Apptit's seafood is never airfreighted, and is purchased in accordance with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Guidelines for Sustainability, and we’ve been at the forefront of the right for farmworkers rights – including hosting an annual National Farmworker Awareness Week on campus. Bon Appetit communicates with guests through menus in the cafes and through our guest facing website (www.cafebonappetit.com) in order to share our sustainability related policies, the local farms we source from and their distance from the campus, and menu items with COR icons that relay information related to each of these standards. Bon Appetit has a published sustainable dining policy, covered in detail at http://su.cafebonappetit.com/wellness/

On-Campus Sourcing 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor source food from a campus garden or farm?:
No

A brief description of the program to source food from a campus garden or farm:
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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:
Bon Appetit has donated to support Seattle University's campus garden team, Squire park community council (https://squireparkcc.org/), and the urban garden earth day plant sale.

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:
Bon Appetit prioritizes plant-based proteins in the cafes. A complete protein vegan option is available to the campus communities at every meal served in the cafés. Bon Appetit communicates vegan options to guests using the Vegan Circle of Responsibility icon, on both online menus and menus in the café.

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:
Bon Appetit host a number of low impact dining events including Earth Week, Food Waste minimization events, Food Day, and the annual Farmworker Awareness Week. We work with our campus Wellness group on events like Eating Healthy on a Budget and Wellness Week. We also partner with the Center for Environmental Justice and Sustainability in the annual EcoChallenge (3 weeks in April) that focuses on sustainable living.

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:
Yes, Bon Appetit hosts a number of sustainability themed meals throughout the year, including an annual Eat Local Challenge with 100% local ingredients to create excitement around regional foodsheds and local agriculture.

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 café in the library (The Byte) is heavily focused on ‘eating lower in the food chain’ and plant based proteins.

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:
Bon Appetit informs guests about low impact food choices and sustainability practices in many ways. On guest tables and in signs around the cafe, we share information about pressing sustainability issues and relevant policies, including antibiotics use on animal farms, animal welfare issues, sustainable seafood, and farmworkers rights. Using our Circle of Responsibility (COR) program, we communicate sustainability attributes of ingredients through our online and in-café menus. Menus are labeled with COR icons that denote the following (and more): --If the dish includes local ingredients, and which farm they are from --If the dish includes animal products from a farm with a third party animal welfare certification --If the dish includes seafood rated as Green or Yellow by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program --If the dish is vegetarian and/or vegan

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:
Yes, Bon Appétit Management Company engages in outreach efforts to support learning and research about sustainable food systems in many ways. One example is through our Fellowship program, where recent graduates from Bon Appetit campuses join the company for 1-2 years to learn about the food system, do outreach to connect Bon Appétit campus communities with where their food is coming from, and perform research to inform future purchasing policies and commitments as a company. Our regional fellow is a former SU graduate and extremely active in sustainability and wellness events on 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:
Sustainability and well-being is at the heart of what we do. For example, we host monthly Well Being Wednesday to educate guests about a variety of healthy eating topics, such as healthy fat and whole grain consumption, and always make culturally diverse options available in the café. We hosted two waste awareness events in our café and work closely with the campus wellness team on special events. We have enhanced the variety of healthy options at our rice bowl station this year. We have added Wellness Monday to our Sidebar location. We incorporate food trucks focused on local, sustainable foods into our weekly offering.

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:
We participate in the following waste prevention systems: We are food recovery certified, donating 8670 pounds of food last year equaling 7225 meals

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 have introduced stricter portion controls to ensure both the accuracy of nutrition labeling and minimizing carbon footprint. We train all servers in portion control in order to minimize post-consumer food waste

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:
Bon Appetit donates food to Food Lifeline / Seattle’s Table program. Since 2009, SU has donated nearly 33,000 pounds of food; that's more than 27,000 meals.

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:
Yes, we divert food materials from the landfill in the following ways: oils recycled for fuel, on-site pre consumer composting, off site post-consumer composting. All disposable containers are compostable.

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:
Food preparation staff put pre-consumer food waste into red bins in the kitchen. Pre-consumer food waste goes to our on-campus compost facility. The pre-consumer systems makes 80-100 tons of raw compost per year. All of the finished product is used 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:
There are food waste bins at every restaurant and cafe, outside every building, at catered events, in employee kitchens and in every dorm room. Post-consumer food waste is collected by a local hauler and taken to a local compost facility because our campus compost facility is not permitted to take it. There is post-consumer collection at 175 stations around campus in the academic buildings.

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:
Bon Appetit provides and encourages the use of china.

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:
Yes, Bon Appetit utilizes100% compostable containers for to go meals, and has a composting program that is able to accept those containers. To-go containers are Cedar Grove approved compostable. Cedar Grove has a very rigorous testing system for all the compostable items that they approve.

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:
Yes, we offer the following incentives to customers who use reusable contains: cup discount (20 cent discount is given on all coffee drinks and fountain soda when you bring your own reusable mug to campus eateries).

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:
We reduce waste in our supply chain by purchasing through Bon Appétit’s Imperfectly Delicious Produce program – a program that was developed to create markets for cosmetically imperfect produce that would otherwise go to waste on farms and in processing.

Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
http://su.cafebonappetit.com/

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.