| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 83.87 |
| Liaison | Yolanda Cieters |
| Submission Date | March 1, 2024 |
Seattle University
OP-8: Sustainable Dining
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Yolanda
Cieters Associate Director CEJS |
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?:
A brief description of the farmers market, CSA or urban agriculture project:
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?:
A brief description of the sustainability-themed food outlet:
In Fall 2021, Redhawk Dining (Chartwells at Seattle University) opened "The Convergence Zone" in the university's newly constructed, LEED Gold certified "Sinegal Center for Science and Innovation."
The Convergence Zone is a 100% plant-based café. The idea behind opening the cafe was to recognize the growing number of students on campus who are opting for plant-based diets. Read more here: https://www.seattleu.edu/newsroom/stories/2022/good-eats-at-the-convergence-zone-cafe.html
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?:
A brief description of the support for disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
A few disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs that Redhawk Dining (Chartwells at Seattle University) continuously uses throughout the year include: Boon Boona Coffee, Wilcox Farms, Blazing Bagles, Marsee Baking Company, Dillano Coffee Roasters, Columbia Gorge Juice & Coffee, Aunt Patty’s, Northern Fruit Company, Domex Farms, Ralph’s Green House, Truly Good Foods, SkinnyDipped, Field Roast, Jones Barbecue, Hugh’s Farms, and Pearl Distributing.
Estimated percentage of total food and beverage expenditures on products from disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host low impact dining events or promote plant-forward options?:
A brief description of the low impact dining events and/or plant-forward options:
Throughout the year Redhawk Dining focuses on low impact eating habits and events:
--All menus in SU’s cafeteria (C-street) and catering menu lead with “Veg-forward”; that is vegan options come above animal protein, to promote vegan options.
--The “Thrive without 9” allergen-friendly station: Everything is cooked without the main allergens. The menu features vegetables & other sides like starches as the center of the plate with a smaller emphasis and size of the traditional animal proteins.
--Since 2021, Redhawk Dining partners with “HowGood” to begin climate labeling for menu items at some of the stations in the campus cafeteria (C-street). Climate labeling enables to make informed dining choices by assessing the impacts of what we eat. With its database of more than 33,000 ingredients, HowGood helps Redhawk Dining assess the relative impact of its recipes for metrics such as greenhouse gas emissions and water usage, working conditions, land use, biodiversity, and animal welfare. Read more here: https://dineoncampus.com/seattleu/howgood-climate-labeling
--A recent example of a low-impact dining event: Vegan Poke Bowl with a complete plant-based menu for lunch.
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?:
A brief description of the vegan dining program:
• At each station in the main cafeteria there is always an animal protein and a plant-based protein option (except for the Thrive station which is allergen-focused)
• In Fall 2021, Redhawk Dining (Chartwells at Seattle University) opened "The Convergence Zone" in the university's newly constructed, LEED Gold certified "Sinegal Center for Science and Innovation." The Convergence Zone is a 100% plant-based café. The idea behind opening the cafe was to recognize the growing number of students on campus who are opting for plant-based diets. Read more here: https://www.seattleu.edu/newsroom/stories/2022/good-eats-at-the-convergence-zone-cafe.html
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?:
A brief description of the sustainability labelling and signage in dining halls:
Redhawk Dining informs their guests about low impact food choices and sustainability practices in many ways:
--At the entrance of Cherry Street Market (main cafeteria), there is a wall dedicated to all of their sustainable principles. This reminds students of the focus on sustainability issues and relevant policies, including antibiotics use on animal farms, animal welfare issues, sustainable seafood, and farmworkers rights.
--All Redhawk Dining venue menus utilize the following icons throughout their menus across campus: "Vegan" to indicate all vegan entrees & sides; "Vegetarian" to indicate all vegetarian options; "Avoiding Gluten" to showcase all options that are made without any gluten/wheat in the ingredients; Lastly "BalancedU", that indicates a healthy, balanced option.
--Since 2021, Redhawk Dining partners with “HowGood” to begin climate labeling for menu items at some of the stations in the campus cafeteria (C-street). Climate labeling enables to make informed dining choices by assessing the impacts of what we eat. With its database of more than 33,000 ingredients, HowGood will help Redhawk Dining assess the relative impact of its recipes for metrics such as greenhouse gas emissions and water usage, working conditions, land use, biodiversity, and animal welfare. Read more here: https://dineoncampus.com/seattleu/howgood-climate-labeling
--See also: https://dineoncampus.com/seattleu/our-sustainable-commitment
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?:
A brief description of the food recovery competition or commitment program or food waste prevention system:
1. In January 2023, Redhawk Dining (Compass Group) launched its new and improved Waste Not™ 2.0 initiative, a proprietary and patent-pending, chef-centric, cloud-based waste tracking program. Compass Group has committed to reducing its food waste by 50% by 2030. Redhawk Dining is one of many operations that will help contribute to reducing food waste across the globe as part of this effort. Developed by chefs for chefs, Waste Note 2.0 focuses on real waste reduction opportunities rather than trim, bones, cores, and peels, and offers real-time tracking and dashboard reporting. Strategies for reducing waste will develop based on kitchen dashboard reports and the understanding gained related to practices such as overproduction or composting of expired products. Read more at: https://www.compass-usa.com/2022-corporate-social-responsibility-report/
2. Redhawk Dining is an official Chapter of the Food Recovery Network. In FY23 they donated about 6,000 pounds of food to a local non-profit organization (Operation Sack Lunch: https://www.oslserves.org/) and SU’s Food Pantry. SU’s Redhawk Dining has partnered with the MOSAIC and the Wellness and Health Promotion (WHP) department to provide daily donations of surplus food for use at Seattle university’s food pantry.
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?:
A brief description of the trayless dining or modified menu/portion program:
Since September 2023, all trays have been removed throughout Cherry Street Market. All menus are a la carte; none of the facilities are currently all you can eat. The servers are trained to provide the healthy portions based on the recommended 2,000 calorie intake a day.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor donate food that would otherwise go to waste to feed people?:
A brief description of the food donation program:
Redhawk Dining is an official Chapter of the Food Recovery Network. In FY23 we donated about 6,000 pounds of food to a local non-profit organization (Operation Sack Lunch: https://www.oslserves.org/) and SU’s Food Pantry. SU’s Redhawk Dining has partnered with SU's MOSAIC and the Wellness and Health Promotion (WHP) department to provide daily donations of surplus food for use at Seattle university’s food pantry.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor divert food materials from the landfill, incinerator or sewer for animal feed or industrial uses?:
A brief description of the food materials diversion program:
Yes, we divert food materials from the landfill in the following ways:
1. On-site pre consumer composting
2. Post-consumer composting (through local hauler Cedar Grove)
3. RTI (Restaurant Technologies Incorporated) takes our used oil to turn it into bio-diesel
4. We reduce waste in our supply chain by purchasing through Chartwell’s Imperfectly Delicious Produce program for produce used in food preparation. The IDP program was developed to create markets for cosmetically “imperfect” produce that would otherwise go to waste on farms and in processing.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a pre-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program:
SU has an onsite compost facility that utilizes pre-consumer food waste from our dining and cafe spaces on campus. The food preparation staff dispose of vegetable and produce scraps into red bins which are then collected and brought to our compost facility to be made into compost. This facility on average generates around 50 tons worth of usable product a year. Our grounds team then uses this product as a landscaping mulch across our campus grounds.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a post-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the post-consumer composting program:
There are compost bins for all post-consumer and certified compostable materials outside and inside every academic and office building, in our dining facilities, at catered events, in employee kitchens, and in every dorm room/trash room. There are 175 post-consumer collections stations around campus. This material is collected by our contracted custodial team and taken to the main disposal locations and then our hauler takes it to their compost facility for processing.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor utilize reusable service ware for “dine in” meals?:
A brief description of the reusable service ware program:
We provide and encourage the use of china & skipping the straw on beverages. We plan to expand our reusable services, to include reusable containers, starting in Fall quarter 2024 as well as the use of silverware.
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)?:
A brief description of the compostable containers and service ware:
Yes, Redhawk Dining utilizes 100% compostable containers for to-go meals, and has a composting program that is able to accept those containers.
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?:
A brief description of the reusable container discount or incentives program:
Yes, guests are able to bring in their own reusable mug and thermos to any of our coffee venues. The coffee discount is a price of $1.25, any size. Regular prices are 2.49/2.79/2.99 for Drip.
A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
Each quarter Redhawk Dining works with Seattle University’s Housing and Health and wellness department and reallocate unused meal plan money to benefit the food security program: students can donate up to $250 per quarter from their meal plan for students that are food-insecure.
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:
Our primary dining service contractor is Chartwells (Compass Group) which is called "Redhawk Dining" at SeattleU.
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.