| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 81.02 |
| Liaison | Sam Lubow |
| Submission Date | June 29, 2016 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Stanford University
OP-8: Sustainable Dining
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Moira
Hafer Sustainability Specialist Office of Sustainability |
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a published sustainable dining policy?:
A brief description of the sustainable dining policy:
Below is the text of the R&DE Stanford Dining Sustainable Purchasing Standards:
Our preference is to purchase organic and locally grown, raised, or processed food directly from farmers, ranchers, and manufacturers who treat their land, animals, and employees fairly, humanely, and equitably.
Protein & Dairy
We only purchase seafood that is Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch “best” and “good” approved seafood.
We serve only wild Alaskan salmon purchased directly from family fishery, Taku River Reds, using a unique payment plan to guarantee sales and reduce financial risk to the fishery.
We serve only grass-fed beef that is raised humanely, currently from Australia.
All chicken is antibiotic free and raised humanely.
We serve only humanely-raised, antibiotic-free, and hormone-free pork butt from Niman Ranch.
We serve only cage free eggs (whole and liquid).
We serve only organic and local milk from Straus Family Creamery (except chocolate milk).
We serve only organic tofu.
We seek to reduce the amount of animal proteins we serve and to always have vegetarian and vegan options.
Produce
We serve only organic apples (which are #1 on the Dirty Dozen).
We purchase organically-grown produce from the Stanford O’Donohue Family Educational Farm.
We purchase “Deliciously Imperfect” ugly organic and local produce from Coke Farm.
We serve organic produce direct from Pie Ranch, a local educational farm, using a unique payment plan to guarantee sales and reduce financial risk to the farm.
We serve only organic romaine lettuce and mixed salad greens from the local Earthbound Farm.
We serve only organic herbs (basil, Thai basil, mint, rosemary, and thyme) from the local Jacobs Farm.
We serve organic produce grown in our eight dining hall gardens.
Other
We serve only Fair Trade or CAFE certified coffee from Starbucks.
We serve only Fair Trade, organic, and/or Rainforest Alliance tea from Numi, Choice, and Lipton.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor source food from a campus garden or farm?:
A brief description of the program to source food from a campus garden or farm:
R&DE Stanford Dining has nine organic gardens and multiple dorms and co-ops have student-run gardens as well. Stanford Dining also has a greenhouse in one dining hall and hydroponic towers in another dining hall. Student garden managers plant and harvest produce that is used in the dining halls. They are managed by a Farm/Forage Coordinator as part of the Sustainable Food Program.
The R&DE Stanford Dining organic gardens offer multiple work days a week in addition to workshops to teach students how to grow their own produce. In addition, the Seed Library run by R&DE Stanford Dining gives students free seeds each month that they can plant at home or in the gardens by their dorms.
In 2014, the School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences established the O'Donohue Family Stanford Educational Farm on 6 acres near the university's historic Red Barn. The farm is a living laboratory offering academic and experiential learning opportunities for the Stanford community and beyond. The farm utilizes agroecological relationships and natural diversity to grow over 200 varieties of vegetables, flowers, herbs, field crops and fruit. Students come to the farm to test new ideas about the biological, social and environmental aspects of farming and gain experience in the practice of sustainable agriculture. On-farm research provides students hands-on learning opportunities. Over the course of a year, the farm harvests over 15,000 pounds of organically-grown produce. Those crops feed into a new farm-to-campus program, with fresh vegetables featured at R&DE Stanford Dining in the dining halls, in campus cafes, and at the Teaching Kitchen @ Stanford.
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?:
A brief description of the farmers market, CSA or urban agriculture project:
Stanford hosts four produce CSAs and one fishery CSA. The R&DE Sustainable Food Program has created a list of on-campus and nearby CSAs and farmers markets and a corresponding map to make it easier for community members to find these CSAs and farmers markets. The university does not host a farmers market as there are two farmers markets located within a mile of the university.
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:
R&DE Stanford Dining provides vegan meals in all dining halls on all days. The dining halls have “Performance Dining” options that are all vegetarian, with at least one or two vegan options at lunch and dinner. Each Performance Dining area has a bean or tofu dish, whole grain dish, vegetable side, and leafy greens dish (i.e. chard, kale, spinach, etc.). R&DE Stanford Dining always provides at least one vegetarian soup, and many are vegan as well. Each of the 11 dining halls also has a make-your-own salad bar with homemade salad dressings. R&DE Stanford Dining labels all vegetarian and vegan options as well as the top eight allergens for all food.
R&DE Stanford Hospitality and Auxiliaries has vegan and vegetarian options in all cafes, catering operations, and concessions on campus. The newest café, Forbes Family Café, prominently features vegan dishes as part of its earth-friendly flexitarian theme.
Both R&DE Stanford Dining and Stanford Hospitality and Auxiliaries’ dining facilities are open to all members of the campus community and their guests.
In 2015, Stanford won Peta2's Favorite Vegan-Friendly College Contest for large universities.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host low impact dining events (e.g. Meatless Mondays)?:
A brief description of the low impact dining events:
In January 2015, R&DE launched, with the support of Jamie Oliver and the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation, the Teaching Kitchen @ Stanford, a groundbreaking cooking education program available to the Stanford University community. The 9-week hands-on cooking classes have sustainability information woven into the curriculum, with a focus on vegan and vegetarian dishes. The students visit the organic dining hall garden and use produce in their cooking lessons from the garden.
The Florence Moore Dining Hall’s weekly chef’s table is sold out every week and features a fully vegan menu.
R&DE Stanford Dining’s chefs hold tastings of new menu items in the dining halls to solicit feedback and garner excitement for the dishes. All tastings have been vegan and recent tastings include lentil salads (in honor of the UN Year of the Pulses), low-sugar fruit compotes, and salsas.
The R&DE Sustainable Food Program hosts intimate meals with farmers and producers. Recent talks include ones with an organic lentil farmer, a book author, and a vegan burger company.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host sustainability-themed meals (e.g. local harvest dinners)?:
A brief description of the sustainability-themed meals:
R&DE Stanford Dining hosts an Earth Day meal every April that focuses on the local farms and sustainable fisheries and farms that they work with. This event is open to the community and over 1,000 students attend. Sustainability is incorporated in other special meals, such as Lunar New Year, through purchasing. Thanksgiving dinner is another meal where local, seasonal, and organic produce and farms are highlighted. R&DE co-hosted the first BeWell Community Gardens Harvest Festival this year which focused on teaching the campus community to grow their own food.
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:
The Forbes Family Café, run by R&DE, is focused on earth-friendly flexitarian dishes. Most dishes are vegan and vegetarian, and produce is sourced as locally as possible, including from the O’Donohue Family Stanford Educational Farm. Munger Market, a small market run by R&DE, also focuses on sustainable foods, such as Fair Trade chocolates, local produce, and organic nuts and fruit.
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?:
A brief description of the sustainability labeling and signage in dining halls:
Through R&DE’s Sustainable Food Program and Performance Dining Program, sustainability education is interwoven into the fabric of the dining halls. All dining halls have TV screens that have sustainability signage related to events, farms, fisheries, or other information. Stanford Dining publishes a tabletop newsletter every two weeks, which features sustainability information in every issue. The newsletter is also available by email and the information is also on Stanford Dining’s Facebook page. The Sustainable Food Program publishes a bi-monthly educational newsletter that goes to over 1,800 community members.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor engage in outreach efforts to support learning and research about sustainable food systems?:
A brief description of the outreach efforts to support learning and research about sustainable food systems:
In addition to the initiatives mentioned above, R&DE works with students in numerous classes and departments for class projects, research project, theses, and capstone projects that focus on operations, purchasing, and education in the dining halls. Students are very interested in learning more about how the food they eat is grown, cooked, and ultimately disposed of. The Sustainable Food Program works on about 25 class projects each year in classes ranging from "The Global Warming Paradox" to "Design for Extreme Affordability."
The R&DE Sustainable Food Program works with the Earth Systems department to advise about 6 seniors each year on their capstone projects that focus on food and sustainability. Recent projects focused on sustainable seafood purchasing, educating seniors about eating lower on the food chain, and organic purchasing.
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)?:
A brief description of the other sustainability-related dining initiatives:
Serving seasonal, sustainable, healthy and culturally diverse food, R&DE offers options and accommodates food preferences for a diverse student, faculty, staff, and visitor population. R&DE is committed to meaningfully participating in the education of the world’s future leaders by sharing knowledge and creating awareness of food culture, food systems, and food production. R&DE serves foods that are grown using sound environmental practices that encourage biodiversity with earth-friendly systems from farms that respect the land and are committed to ensuring our future generation's food supply without compromise.
A rotating menu based on many different cultures, along with culturally-themed dining halls, such as the Mexican-themed Stern Dining Hall or Asian-themed Wilbur Dining hall, ensure that students have access to culturally diverse foods.
R&DE has a full-time sustainable food program manager who runs the Sustainable Food Program. The Sustainable Food Program is a collaborative effort that includes strategic partnerships with vendors and suppliers, students, staff, faculty and other campus stakeholders. Through these partnerships, the Sustainable Food Program seeks to positively impact these main areas:
1. Purchasing and reporting within established budgets and sustainability guidelines;
2. Education and outreach by lecturing, teaching, hosting sustainability events, training staff and acting as subject matter experts;
3. Collaboration with various groups, including students, R&DE division partners, faculty, community partners, and supply chain partners;
4. Sustainable operations including kitchen sustainability audits and food waste reduction.
R&DE has won numerous awards for its Sustainable Food Program including:
• R&DE Stanford Dining became only the third university dining program in the country to receive a 4 Star Green Restaurant Certification by the Green Restaurant Association for environmental accomplishments at its Florence Moore Dining Hall.
• R&DE Stanford Dining was certified by the United States Healthful Food Council as a Responsible Epicurean and Agricultural Leadership (REAL) restaurant for its use of nutrition and sustainability best practices.
• R&DE Stanford Dining was the 2015 recipient of the Hobart Center for Food Sustainability Grant for being the most innovative and best-executed foodservice sustainability organization of the year.
• R&DE Stanford Dining was one of the first university food service operations in the United States certified as a green business (by Santa Clara County).
• R&DE Stanford Dining won the Acterra Business Environmental Award for Sustainability
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:
As part of R&DE Stanford Dining’s “Love Food Hate Waste” program, all dining halls have LeanPath systems. Staff monitor and assess progress and utilize the analytics of the waste data to help control and reduce food waste. Staff are trained on proper waste sorting and waste reduction at new staff onboardings and quarterly trainings.
As part of Stanford's participation in Recyclemania, Stanford Dining and the Office of Sustainability hold educational campaigns, such as “Caught Green-Handed” in the dining halls and cafes to educate students, staff, and faculty about composting participation in the campaign.
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:
Stanford Dining has implemented trayless dining in all dining halls. A new initiative in the dining halls is to offer pre-plated dishes from the grill so students don't request an amount they can't finish.
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:
R&DE donates leftover usable food to multiple non-profits in East Palo Alto, a neighboring community, including a food bank, high school tutoring program, and weekly dinner. R&DE donates about 1,000 pounds of food a month. R&DE also partners with a student-run program SPOON (Stanford Project on Hunger) to donate food from dining halls, cafes, and events. R&DE has one intern who works to help coordinate the food donation program and weigh food donation.
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)?:
A brief description of the food materials diversion program:
R&DE recycles all cooking oil from dining halls, dorms, cafes, and catering into biofuel through a partnership with SF Greasecycle.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a pre-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program:
All R&DE kitchens have pre-consumer composting programs. Staff are trained when they join R&DE and at quarterly trainings to ensure the compost bins are used properly and the compost is not contaminated.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a post-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the post-consumer composting program:
Stanford annually composts about 3.3 million pounds of food waste from its dining halls and other campus eateries (or 1,671 tons in 2015). A major focus of the Sustainable Food Program is to reduce the impact of R&DE’s operations through efficiency measures, education of staff and customers, collaborative efforts with partners across campus, and creative design solutions to complex behavioral challenges. The pre- and post-consumer composting program is an ideal example of these initiatives.
As part of the “Love Food, Hate Waste” program, the dining halls have post-consumer disposal stations where students scrape their own plates into compost containers before placing the dishware in the dishroom. The compost bins are open so students are able to see individually and collectively the amount of food that is being wasted. R&DE uses newsletters, emails, and social media to discuss and highlight food waste issues. Post-consumer composting is the standard in all R&DE cafes and many catered events where compost bins exist.
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:
R&DE Stanford Dining uses only reusable service ware in the dining halls. Stanford Dining also gives all new students on the meal plan and dining hall staff a reusable mug at the beginning of the year.
All R&DE dining halls have gone trayless and have reduced the size of plates and glasses in the dining halls to encourage taking only the food that students will eat.
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:
When needed, such as special events and Late Night dining, (which is a to-go operation) R&DE Stanford Dining uses only BPI-certified compostable wares. All dining halls have compost bins to ensure the compostable wares are composted.
R&DE Stanford Hospitality & Auxiliaries uses BPI-certified compostable products (cups, plates, bowls, and straws) in all cafes and catering on campus. All R&DE cafes and many non R&DE cafes have full recycling and composting programs for customers.
In addition, a list of compostable break room supplies is available in Smart Mart (the university's online procurement system) so that individual office buildings can stock their offices with compostable to-go products.
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?:
A brief description of the reusable container discount or incentives program:
R&DE Stanford Dining provides reusable mugs to all incoming freshmen and transfer students to help reduce disposable bottled beverage consumption on campus. Students can use these containers to receive discounts at most campus cafes (discount value varies by location). A student sustainability group inventoried and made a list of these venues available to the student body in 2015.
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)?:
A brief description of other dining services materials management initiatives:
Produce from the O’Donohue Family Stanford Educational Farm is delivered in reusable containers. R&DE Stanford Dining also switched to pouch pack tomatoes from canned tomatoes to reduce food packaging and increase workplace safety.
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives 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.