Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 70.10
Liaison Francis Mitalo
Submission Date March 5, 2021

STARS v2.2

University of California, Riverside
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Fortino Morales
Sustainability Officer
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:
The R’Garden includes a community garden, row crops, a Valencia orchard, and a greenhouse area. It serves as a sustainability hub to promote service learning, and community-based research around food systems through student-led projects and collaborations with the campus and community.
https://rgarden.ucr.edu/

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-themed food outlet:
UCR Dining Services serves sustainable and low impact food at the Seeds of Change stations in the Dining Halls.
https://dining.ucr.edu/nutrition

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the support for disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
UCR purchases food products and supplies from dozens of vendors, several of which are minority-owned businesses or small-medium enterprises. Additionally, some of the larger food distributors source products from minority-owned and small and medium-sized enterprises.

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the low impact dining events and/or plant-forward options:
UCR residential restaurants have “Beefless Fridays” and “Meatless Mondays” to reduce waste, save energy, and promote sustainability. Residential restaurants also promote vegan/vegetarian options. UCR also conducted various cooking demos that promote foods that have a lower carbon footprint. http://dining.ucr.edu/resources/sustainability.html

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:
UCR provides a Guide to Vegetarian & Vegan Dining Options brochure that lists vegetarian and vegan options at the various restaurants and markets around campus.
http://dining.ucr.edu/docs/vegan-veggie-brochure.pdf

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:
UCR promotes low impact food choices through the Seeds of Change program modeled after the Harvard School of Public Health Menus of Change program. Menu items are tagged with a Seeds of Change logo on the menu website.
https://dining.ucr.edu/todays-menu

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the food recovery competition or commitment program or food waste prevention system:
UCR dining service uses the Food Waste Tracking Module in FoodPro to track and improve its food management practices. UCR is also an active participant of the U.S. EPA Food Recovery Challenge and has pledged to reduce its food waste by at least 5 percent every year.
https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/food-recovery-challenge-frc#what

Food Recovery Program with R'Pantry
As an effort to combat food insecurity and food waste at UCR, Dining Services established a food recovery program with local food banks by donating unused food to Inland Harvest. From 2018 to 2019, about 30,000 pounds of surplus food was donated to Inland Harvest where the volunteers distribute the food to about 50 local non-profit agencies in the Inland Empire region. Dining Services also donates pre-packaged salads and sandwiches to the R’Pantry, the on-campus food recovery program, every year. In 2018, the R’Pantry received 5,180 donation items from Dining that was then distributed to needy students. For more information on the R’Pantry, visit https://basicneeds.ucr.edu/rpantry.

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:
Residential restaurants of UCR have opted to go trayless since 2008. By going trayless, residential restaurants save hundreds of thousands of pounds of food waste each year.
http://dining.ucr.edu/resources/sustainability.html

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 foods are donated to Inland Harvest each week. The organization collects the food twice a week from the Residential Restaurants and the HUB Restaurants. Surplus food is also donated to the R’Pantry to help mitigate food insecurity on campus.
http://dining.ucr.edu/resources/sustainability.html

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:
UCR dining services recycle cans, glass, plastic, paper, and cardboard. Most bags, plates, bowls, utensils, and napkins are 100% compostable. In addition, 100% of cooking oil is recycled. Furthermore, UCR sends its food waste to composting facility to divert it from landfills.

http://dining.ucr.edu/resources/sustainability.html

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:
UCR’s pre-consumer waste is composted by the institution’s hauler, Athens Services

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:
All post-consumer food waste in the Residential Restaurants is composted. UCR dining service compost over 200 tons of food waste each year, including coffee grounds.
http://dining.ucr.edu/resources/sustainability.html

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:
At both of the on-campus dining halls, reusable plates, cups, and silverware are provided. For to-go meals, compostable napkins, straws, cups, lids, and flatware are given.

http://dining.ucr.edu/resources/sustainability.html

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:
Most carryout bags, plates, bowls, utensils, and napkins in all Campus Restaurants are 100% compostable.
http://dining.ucr.edu/resources/sustainability.html

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:
UCR dining services offers 20-cent discount if you bring in a reusable mug on coffee beverages.
http://dining.ucr.edu/resources/sustainability.html

Optional Fields

A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
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Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:
http://dining.ucr.edu/resources/sustainability.html

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.