Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 53.65
Liaison Melissa Cadwell
Submission Date June 15, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Syracuse University
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.75 / 2.00 Melissa Cadwell
Sustainability Coordinator
Energy Systems & Sustainability Management
"---" 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?:
No

A brief description of the sustainable dining policy:
Although we do not have a sustainable dining policy, we do source local products and sustainable products. Food and supplies are purchased either directly from producers or through local distributors, cutting down on the miles a product has to travel to our campus. Some of the vendors providing locally grown or produced items include: Byrne Dairy, Cabot Cheese, McCadam Cheese, Father Sam’ breads, Johnston Paper Supplies, Eva Gourmet, Gianelli Sausage, Hofmann Sausage Co., Paul deLima Coffee, Syracuse Banana produce company

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:
University CSA - Brainfeeders, a student group on campus, partnered with Common Threads CSA, a local farm, to deliver farm shares to our campus. It is a 9 week share and is open to all Universality faculty, staff and students. Two festivals are held on campus, Strawberry Fest in June and Apple festival in fall, local farmers are invited to sell their products at both events. A third event, Earthfest, is held in a local park, this festival is open to local and community farmer, a local bee keeper, and a local maple syrup vendor.

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:
Vegan and vegetarian options are available at all meals and in all dining centers and cash operations. Vegan and vegetarian items are clearly labeled. There is a main entree offered at each meal and is available in its own area on its own service line, to ensure the items stay vegan and or vegetarian and no cross contamination can occur. All students have access to all these items. Everyday vegan and vegetarian items can also be found interspersed with other items along the service line, and are clearly marked.

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:
Food services works with the SU Health and Wellness department and hosts Meatless Mondays. They also host a Local Foods theme dinner, in the five dining centers, for Campus Sustainability Month in October. The food for this event is a local, within 250 miles or 500 miles for meat, and all New York state food products are served, including, proteins, vegetables, desserts, starches, fruit and beverages.

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:
Food services host a Local Foods theme dinner, in the five dining centers, for Campus Sustainability Month in October. The food for this event is local, within 250 miles or 500 miles for meat, and all New York state food products are served, including, proteins, vegetables, desserts, starches, fruit and beverages. Their is one dining center that offers Kosher and Halal meals weekdays for lunch and dinners.

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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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:
Yes, each item is clearly labeled and the dining centers have instituted a QR Code system for diners to look up the content of all items.

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?:
No

A brief description of the outreach efforts to support learning and research about sustainable food systems:
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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:
SU partners with, Healthy Monday and promotes the program via social media and the foods are clearly marked. SU also works with SU Wellness initiative, such as, Monday Mile, Healthy Habits at Work, Weight Watchers, and the NY State Apple Crunch. The dining centers also host theme meals each semester that revolve around different cultures.

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:
The student run Food Recovery Network focuses on social justice and waste reduction. They work with the dining halls on campus to transport extra food items from the dining centers to local not for profit charities in need of donated food items.

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:
four of the five dining centers are trayles, the fifth will be trayless at the start of fall 2018. In addition, every new student is given a reusable water bottle and no single serve beverages are given out. In addition, each student is provided a reusable takeout container for meals on the go.

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:
Yes, through the Food Recovery Network Syracuse University donates any left over food to shelters in the area and donates any perishable items when school is not in session. the Carrier Dome athletic center donates leftovers food to the Rescue Mission following all major events. Other campus events through campus catering are donate to Rescue Mission.

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:
We send our food waste and other compostable materials from the dining halls to Onondaga Country Resource Recovery Agency, Amboy composting facility. Used oil is picked up to third party rendering company.

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:
SU Food Services has all their food scraps delivered to Onondaga Country Resource. All fruit and vegetable scraps are collected in bins and delivered to a food scrap holding dumpster. Approximately once a week the dumpster is taken to the compost facility by our Physical Plant employees.

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:
SUFS collects fruit and vegetable matter discarded during food preparation plus uneaten food left from diners. This waste is collected in red bins in all major units daily. SUFS drivers pick up the full bins and drop off empty ones. The full bins are then emptied in a dumpster. Bins are cleaned and stored at the SU Commissary. Each week the dumpster of food waste is taken to the Amboy Compost Site in Camillus, NY where the process of becoming compost begins.

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:
Yes, the dining centers use all reusable tableware, plates forks, etc. There are reusable takeout containers for students, they are allowed to take one out at a time but can keep renewing them as much as their meal plan allows them too.

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:
Campus cafes, student centers and food courts use PLA pastic and/or sugar cane base take out containers or recyclable plastic containers. Polystyrene cups have been eliminated from the Dunkin’ Donuts and Freshens franchises on campus as well.

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:
In an effort to cut back on the number of cups used each day, SUFS cafes invite faculty and staff to be a part of their Mug Club. Instead of using a disposable cup for a beverage, the Mug Club encourages sustainability by giving a 20% discount to anyone using the Mug Club. There are several other discounts throughout the week as well as monthly specials.

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:
Syracuse University worked with Dunkin Donuts corporation to eliminate Styrofoam cups and replace them paper cups at all locations on campus. They have eliminated all single serve takeout beverages from their dining centers, students must use a reusable beverage container. The condiments, such as, sugars, cream, mustard, ketchup.etc. are all served from bulk containers, the single serve packets are not served in the dining centers.

Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
http://www.syr.edu/currentstudents/studenthandbook/campus_resources/diningmealplans.html

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
http://foodservices.syr.edu/aboutus/sustainability/

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