Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 78.00
Liaison Katie Maynard
Submission Date Feb. 29, 2024

STARS v2.2

University of California, Santa Barbara
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Jewel Persad
Sustainability Manager
Administration
"---" 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?:
No

A brief description of the farmers market, CSA or urban agriculture project:
The UCSB Edible Campus Program (ECP) founded a student farm at UC Santa Barbara, an urban orchard in the center of campus, and a vertical garden program. ECP is a partnership between the Associated Students Department of Public Worms, Associated Students Food Bank, and the UCSB Sustainability Program. All three of these growing projects mentioned grow food exclusively for our campus student food pantries. ECP is also a partner with several community gardens in our college town.

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:
Root Burger is UC Santa Barbara's sustainable food unit on campus; it focuses on food made from local, fresh, organic and natural ingredients. The concept was developed to bring farm-to-table eating into the University Center. Root Burger was awarded with the 2012 Best Practice Award for Sustainable Foodservice at the California Higher Education Sustainability Conference.

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:
Campus Dining purchases from local small and medium sized enterprises including Burkdoll Farms, Sunrise Organics, Edna’s and others. We are delighted to support these companies and our local community. The enthusiasm and passion behind these farmers and business owners is illustrated in their excellent products. During education events in the dining commons we enjoy inviting these vendors to campus to showcase their products and get our students excited about their amazing products.

Estimated percentage of total food and beverage expenditures on products from disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
---

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:
As a reflection of our values, Residential Dining has integrated a special event called Climate Friendly Monday into its operations. Offered two times a quarter, Climate Friendly Monday offers a menu focusing on reducing meat, and dairy and increasing local, organic, seasonal, and whole food options. Climate Friendly Monday is a campaign focusing on reducing our carbon footprint.

Additionally, Residential Dining hosts Sustainability Week, Nutrition Week, Sustainable Seafood Day and Earth Day once per year. During tabling events, students are encouraged to increase the consumption of plant-based options through choosing more whole grain, beans, legumes, fruits, and vegetables.

In our Retail Cafes, plant-based alternatives options are offered including a housemade black bean burger and a vegan mushroom sandwich. Additional menu offerings include using vegan mayonnaise and offering many organic, partially organic, Fair Trade, and locally grown or sourced products.

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:
Residential Dining offers students complete-protein vegan options. Our mission is to promote a healthy lifestyle and increase an innovative variety of high quality, fresh, and seasonal plant-based meal options to our students. In order to assist students with dietary preferences, the University uses NetNutrition. NetNutrition is an online dietary tool that allows individuals to view nutritional information about items and filter food-based dietary preferences, such as vegan or vegetarian. For those pursuing a vegan diet, there are vegan options for every meal in all on-campus dining commons.
UCSB's NetNutrition: https://nutrition.info.dining.ucsb.edu/NetNutrition/1

Additionally, in our Retail Cafe’s vegan entree options are offered at every meal. Students can also use NetNutrition to filter vegan menu options.

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:
We have created signs featuring our sustainable food options in our residential dining commons. Our signs allow us to share our story with our students by highlighting our sustainable efforts. Some of the food items we featured include organic and local produce, organic and fair trade coffee & tea, and local honey.

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:
To reduce food waste, Residential Dining cooks from scratch and also purchases in bulk, while ensuring that items are used before their expiration date and that too much food is never bought too far in advance. The dining commons staff batch cooks in smaller portions so that food is always fresh while greatly reducing the amount of food waste by only cooking what is needed to complete the meal period. When possible, prepped ingredients are used in multiple meals and high quality leftovers are able to be served again or repurposed for another menu item. For example, chicken bones and vegetable trimmings are used to make house-made stocks. All dining operations compost 100% pre-and post-consumer food waste, ensuring that it is not sent to the landfill but is re-purposed as compost instead.

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:
In the fall quarter of the 2009-2010 school year, Residential Dining removed trays from all four dining commons. The dining commons on campus are each labeled as a "Trayless Dining Facility" and do not provide students the option of using a tray. Since removing trays from dining facilities, UCSB has seen a 54% reduction in post-consumer food waste and a 37% average savings of total waste overall. There has been a reduction of approximately 2,400,000 pounds in solid waste. The amount of wasted food found on trays also went from 6 oz down to less than 3 oz. Further reductions included saving ~1,000,000 gallons/year of water, and chemical use from washing trays was also reduced substantially. Additionally, all trays were donated to various facilities, including local schools, the Santa Barbara Rescue Mission, and UCSB Life Science and Biology labs. The total number of trays donated was 3,952. Food cost savings have allowed new sustainable programs to be implemented. Residential Dining was able to implement the purchasing of 100% Organic Coffee and 100% Certified Humane Cage-Free Eggs in all dining commons.

Additionally, our Retail operations moved to trayless dining.

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:
At the University of California, Santa Barbara, Residential Dining Services actively donates leftover and surplus food products to local food banks.

Additionally, prepared grab and go food items from our retail locations that can no longer be sold are collected and provided to our Food Bank and Food pantry on campus for distribution.

Campus Dining is currently in discussions about exploring more food recovery and donation options. SB 1383, Edible Food Recovery program will allow us to continue to advance our programs.

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:
Campus Dining diverts used cooking oil from the landfill. Used cooking oil is picked up weekly and used to create biodiesel. Used coffee grounds and other pre consumer vegetable prep is picked up weekly by the AS Department of Public Worms. This student group turns our pre-consumer food waste into compost to be used to grow fresh produce for UCSB students.

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:
The University of California, Santa Barbara's Campus Dining Residential and Retail operations composts 100% of pre-consumer food waste.

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:
The University California, Santa Barbara's Campus Dining composts a large portion of post-consumer waste. The UC Santa Barbara Campus has recently changed compost vendors and Campus Dining is working to identify and ensure almost all if not all single use disposable items are compostable. Additionally, Campus Dining is working to ensure all single use compostable ware meets AB1200 which restricts PFAS in fiber based food packaging.

Additionally, 100% of the waste oil (all frying oil used in cooking) is purchased by a biodiesel company, RP Environmental, and converted into cleaner-burning biodiesel fuel used in vehicles.

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:
All dining common locations at UCSB provide reusable service ware for "dine in" meals. This includes dishware, glassware, and cutlery.

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 University Center (UCen) staff has made a campus-wide policy that all food entities leasing space from the UCen must provide compostable food service ware. This mandate was added to the contracts for tenants interested in leasing and only applies to new, future contracts.

As mentioned previously The UC Santa Barbara Campus has recently changed compost vendors and Campus Dining is working to identify and ensure almost all if not all single use disposable items are compostable. Additionally, Campus Dining is working to ensure all single use compostable ware meets AB1200 which restricts PFAS in fiber based food packaging.

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:
The University of California, Santa Barbara provides diners with reusable mugs at the University Center. Diners using reusable mugs receive a discount. Customers can also bring in their own drinking vessel and receive a discount. Additionally, Residential Dining Commons permit and welcome reusable mugs brought in by customers.

Optional Fields

A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
---

Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:
https://hdae.ucsb.edu/about/sustainability

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.