| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 45.37 |
| Liaison | Grace Afflerbach |
| Submission Date | Oct. 31, 2019 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Purchase College - State University of New York
OP-8: Sustainable Dining
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Angie
Kim Sustainability Coordinator Facilities Management |
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a published sustainable dining policy?:
A brief description of the sustainable dining policy:
Chartwells has enlisted eco-friendly programs to maintain a healthier and more sustainable living. With education as the primary focus of thebusiness, Chartwells is committed to fostering and promoting sustainable business principles to the Purchase College community.
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:
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:
Our campus auxiliary services provider hosts a regular farmers market/farm stand for students to be able to buy fresh produce using their dining dollars. Each farmers market produce selection differs to accommodate the season and local offerings.
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:
Chartwells operates a free-standing all-vegan/vegetarian dining facility ("Terra Ve"). Students' meal plan purchases may be used at Terra Ve. The main dining hall and other food locations offer daily vegan/vegetarian options.
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:
Every Thursday, the main dining hall features a "local" meal made exclusively of local ingredients.
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:
Chartwells hosts ‘ local Thursday’ in the fall at our residential dining hall to promote local farms and vendors.
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:
Field Goods is a local organization, similar to a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program but aggregates produce and products from various farms across the Hudson Valley. Through the partnership, the Sustainability Office provides employees with the opportunity to sign up for the weekly program as a pick-up site at a discount. The produce offerings are all local, organic and typically come from small family farms using Integrated Pest Management (IPM). The program allows the college’s employees to help mitigate their food carbon footprint by sourcing only local and seasonal products with little to no pesticide use.
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:
Extensive signage in our dining facilities provide information about local farms from which we buy produce, sustainable seafood sourcing, organic foods, cage-free egg sourcing, vegan and vegetarian information, and more.
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:
There are several courses offered each semester in the Liberal Studies department around food, water, food systems and their sociological impacts.
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:
A certified nutritionist attends campus once per month to create recipes and meal options that are healthy and well-balanced. There are always regular offerings for special dietary restrictions as well as labeling (gluten free, vegetarian, vegan, kosher, etc.)
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:
The Sustainability Coordinator hosts food waste audits in the main dining hall a few times a year as an outreach campaign for students to yield less food waste. Our dining contractor also participates in "Stop Food Waste" day to bring awareness and gain students participation as well as participation in the Compass WasteNot incentives and program.
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:
Trays are not made available at our campus dining facilites.
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:
Any excess, salvageable food is donated to the on-campus food pantry via a student-run Food Recovery Network.
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:
Our dining services contractor utilizes an external organization to recycle cooking oil by converting to fuel.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a pre-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program:
Chartwells employees on campus participate in the corporate-wide WasteNot program. Kitchen employees' everyday required tasks include separating and weighing food waste, which is made available for composting. Prep food waste from the Hub is brought to the on-campus composter.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a post-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the post-consumer composting program:
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:
Meals eaten in the main dining hall uses exclusively reusable services wares such as plates, cutlery and cups/mugs. Once students are finished, the wares are washed and sanitized for reuse.
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:
There is a reusable to-go box program students can sign up for with a $5 deposit. Once the to-go box is used, students can bring back the dirty container in exchange for a clean one. At the end of the year, the student can return a to-go box to recieve their deposit.
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:
Ten-cent discount off beverage price when using one's own reusable container.
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:
Chartwells has an IDP program utilizing irregular looking produce.
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.