Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 51.07
Liaison Adam Maurer
Submission Date March 31, 2021

STARS v2.2

South Seattle College
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.40 / 2.00 Adam Maurer
District Sustainability Coordinator
Office of 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:
Community Orchard of West Seattle, (COWS) is located on the main campus of South Seattle College. COWS is a non profit organization and partners with Nature Stewards. COWS provides a home-scale model and venue that demonstrates how much food can be grown on a city-sized lot. Produce goes to volunteers and local security programs.

COWS broke ground in the winter of 2011 and in its first year converted a narrow strip of unused land on the north east end of South Seattle College. Today you will find a working community garden and growing food forest orchard.

COWS uses permaculture and organic growing principles. All efforts are made in demonstrating low-maintenance sustainable food production strategies.

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?:
No

A brief description of the sustainability-themed food outlet:
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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:
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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?:
No

A brief description of the low impact dining events and/or plant-forward options:
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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?:
No

A brief description of the vegan dining program:
Complete vegetarian option are provided at all meals, but vegan meals are not. They are available during some meal periods depending on the menu.

The Brockey Center offers vegetarian and vegan options for special events upon request.

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:
The Brockey Center labels local, vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free options through small place cards next to food.

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?:
No

A brief description of the food recovery competition or commitment program or food waste prevention system:
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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:
The Brockey Center food service center is a tray-free dining area. Two of the campus dining areas open to students offer trayless dining via sit down service.

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:
Leftover food from the cafeteria is donated to Food Lifeline on a weekly basis. The on-campus catering service has implemented practices to reduce food waste.

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:
Used cooking oil is collected and picked up by a third party vendor to be recycled.

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:
All pre-consumer food waste is composted via the municipal composting program.

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:
Post-consumer compost is collected for conference meals catered in the Brockey center and in the main dining hall on campus.

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:
The Brockey Center uses china for most of dine in meals.

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:
The Brockey Center and Culinary Program dining locations use compostable containers and service ware.

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:
A discount is offered for anyone using a reusable coffee mug.

Optional Fields

A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
International themed bistro and buffet line have options with culturally diverse choices.

Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
There are two main entities on campus that serve food, each very different in their operations. 1) Culinary Arts Program operates several different food locations/options, including Alki Cafe, Alhadeff Grill, Food Court, and Pastry Lab Cafeteria. Collectively, these locations serve students, faculty, and staff on a daily basis. 2) Paid staff operate the Brockey Conference Center. As its name suggests, it hosts conferences, events, and large groups on a regular basis. This does not serve students, staff, or faculty daily.

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.