Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
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Overall Score | 76.34 |
Liaison | Elida Erickson |
Submission Date | March 1, 2019 |
Executive Letter | Download |
University of California, Santa Cruz
OP-8: Sustainable Dining
Status | Score | Responsible Party |
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2.00 / 2.00 |
Clint
Jeffries Unit Manager UC Santa Cruz Dining |
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indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Part 1: Sustainable Dining Initiatives
Sustainable Dining Policy
Yes
A brief description of the sustainable dining policy:
All UC Santa Cruz Dining locations have been awarded the Green Business certification by the City of Santa Cruz. We believe a successful business is dependent on a healthy environment and we are actively working to show our environmental responsibility. We utilize the Green Business certification requirements as a guiding policy.
On-Campus Sourcing
Yes
A brief description of the program to source food from a campus garden or farm:
The campus organic farm (first one in the country) grows produce specifically for dining. This includes potatoes, kale, strawberries, bell peppers, etc. that we utilize while in season. Every Friday at one of our five dining halls we promote farm produce with a Farm Friday dish.
Local Community Engagement
Yes
A brief description of the farmers market, CSA or urban agriculture project:
The campus farm hosts a farmers market four times per week at three locations.
https://casfs.ucsc.edu/community/produce-sales/farm-and-garden-market-cart.html
Vegan Dining Program
Yes
A brief description of the vegan dining program:
All dining halls offer vegetarian and vegan options daily for all meals. We have partnered with local plant based protein companies on increasing our vegan and vegetarian menu diversity. We have changed all mayonnaise to Just Mayo (vegan) offer vegan desserts, spreads, deli items, flat breads, etc.
Low-Impact Dining Events
Yes
A brief description of the low impact dining events:
Farm Friday's highlighting local campus grown produce. Plant based meals offered on the hot line offered continuously during operation. We also have Fair Trade events.
Sustainability-Themed Meals
Yes
A brief description of the sustainability-themed meals:
Farm Fridays, Sustainability themed "college" Nights. Local/organic tasting fair held during Earth Week. Office of Physical Education, Recreation and Sports (OPERS) Fest utilizes local and RFC focused ingredients.
Sustainability-Themed Outlet
Yes
A brief description of the sustainability-themed food outlet:
Cowell Coffee Shop for the Peoples, is a free retail outlet/pantry which gives dining donations, organic campus farm produce, locally produced organic meals, organic coffee etc.
Also, Terra Fresca Restaurant, predominantly features local, organic, and sustainable ingredients.
Labeling and Signage
Yes
A brief description of the sustainability labeling and signage in dining halls:
All vegan items are labelled. We also label organic ingredients, farm ingredients, local ingredients, and have signage focusing on waste reduction.
Outreach and Education
Yes
A brief description of the outreach efforts to support learning and research about sustainable food systems:
We have tabling events for Farm Fridays, general signage, dining website, and company and farmer profiles. We hold a local, organic, sustainable tasting fair once per year that the entire campus community is invited to attend. We also provide ongoing training to our staff and student employees.
Other Initiatives
Yes
A brief description of the other sustainability-related dining initiatives:
We have group of student ambassador's called "Foodies". Each of our five Foodie's have one of the following five foci: Health & Nutrition, Food Allergens, Vegan/Vegetarian, Sustainability and Cultural Food Diversity. We have a program that one of our Foodies created to bring more authentic ethnic dishes from around the world "Cultural Cuisine". We also offer Halal proteins at every meal at all locations including chicken and local sustainable beef. We offer Kosher style during Passover and are in the process of identifying ingredients we use that are Kosher since we are currently unable to have a designated Kosher kitchen. We just hired our first Nutrition Specialist to assist us in creating healthy sustainable options.
Part 2: Food and Dining Waste
Food Recovery Program
Yes
A brief description of the food recovery competition or commitment program or food waste prevention system:
We utilize our food management system to track how many portions of each menu item served. Our system then adjusts the projected production numbers for the next time this item comes up on the cycle at that location.
Trayless Dining and Portion Modifications
Yes
A brief description of the trayless dining or modified menu/portion program:
In 2008 the trays were removed from the dining halls, which has resulted in reducing overall waste by 35%, as well as reducing cleaning water usage by 1,000,000 gallons per year. We also promote taking samples of items to help reduce waste and conduct waste audits.
Food Donation
Yes
A brief description of the food donation program:
Our retail locations donate all left over sushi, pastries, sandwiches, salads, etc. to the on campus pantry "Cowell Coffee Shop for the Peoples" daily.
Our Catering Department donates left over items (pastries, hot food, sandwiches etc.) as well.
Food Materials Diversion
Yes
A brief description of the food materials diversion program:
Our waste fryer oil is turned into bio-diesel.
Our compostable materials are run through an off site biodigester to create CNG prior to being wind rowed.
Composting
Yes
A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program:
Our composting partnership with Marina Waste Management helps us divert over 600 tons per year of both pre- and post-consumer food scraps from the landfill and turns it into nutrient-rich compost which is used to replenish the soil and grow more produce.
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:
Our composting partnership with Marina Waste Management helps us divert over 600 tons per year of both pre- and post-consumer food scraps from the landfill and turns it into nutrient-rich compost which is used to replenish the soil and grow more produce.
Dine-In Service Ware
Yes
A brief description of the reusable service ware program:
All dine-in service ware is reusable in all five campus dining halls operated by Dining Services, including cutlery, plates and cups, bowls, etc. Dining's eco-club "to-go" program requires the purchase of a re-usable container.
Take-Away Materials
Yes
A brief description of the compostable containers and service ware:
UCSC Dining initiated a reusable to-go container program in 2010-2011. Our retail locations use compostable to-go containers for to-go orders.
https://dining.ucsc.edu/snack-to-go/index.html
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:
Our retail locations offer a discount for bringing their own mug for coffee.
Other Materials Management Initiatives
Yes
A brief description of other dining services materials management initiatives:
We work with our prime vendor and the University of California Office of the President strategic sourcing to ensure as little packaging is used as possible.
Optional Fields
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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