Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 50.50
Liaison Ryan Chabot
Submission Date March 2, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Central Florida
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.63 / 2.00 Hannah Hollinger
Social Outreach Assistant
Sustainability Initiatives / SGA
"---" 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?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainable dining policy:
The sustainable dining policy used is Green Thread. According to their platform, they help employees and customers minimize environmental impacts in our operations and in communities. They place special emphasis on responsible sourcing, waste minimization, efficient operations, and transportation management.

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?:
No

A brief description of the farmers market, CSA or urban agriculture project:
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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:
The primary dining services have a vegan dining station available to students during every meal. These menus change on a daily basis, and all are diverse.

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:
The UCF Alumni Association has hosted low impact dining events as part of their GreenUp Campaign. For example, Grad Knight, a celebration for the graduation of Knights, typically around ~500 individuals in attendance, participated in a zero-waste event. The checklist consisted of local, organic, sustainably sourced food in appropriate quantities, washable and/or recycled content and compostable serving ware, reusable or recyclable décor, recycle bins added to bar or meeting space, a clear communications plan or announcement for attendees to follow practices, and print programs on recycled paper and recycle after the event.

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:
The Arboretum and Wellness and Health Promotion Services interchangeably host harvest feasts and farm to table cooking demos/dinners using produce and herbs grown on campus. These events aim to increase community cohesion, education, nutrition, and appreciation. They are usually multi-day: The first day is a day of harvest and demonstration, where you collect one or two ingredients from the garden and take it home. The following day, you return with your cooked dish and we eat together. Following the meal, prizes such as awards and certificates will be awarded to our volunteers for all of their hard work this Fall season.

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:
The Just4U nutrition highlights program uses brightly-colored, leaf-shaped messages on dining hall food options to signify those with fewer calories, less fat, vegetarian or vegan choices or whole grain selections.

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the outreach efforts to support learning and research about sustainable food systems:
Dining Services partners with outside entities to host special events throughout the year regarding sustainable food systems, health, and nutrition. For example, National Heart Health Month featured "Wellness Wednesdays," a how-to on making healthy, informed choices in the Dining Halls. UCF Dining Services has partnered with UCF Wellness and Promotion Services, and UCF Health Services to educate Knights to ensure they are making the best choices for their bodies.

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:
Wellness and Health Promotion Services and the UCF Arboretum make up a FreshU Initiative. FreshU offers workshops, cooking demonstrations, cooking classes, and other hands-on educational experiences to increase accessibility to fresh food on campus. Cooking Demonstration: Our nutrition coordinator teaches students how to incorporate fruits and vegetables into their diets and reduce food waste. Students will get to see the process, taste the dish, and take home a recipe card so they can try making it themselves later. Cooking Classes: Like our cooking demos, students will get to taste the dish and take the recipe home, but this time they will also get to experience cooking! Students are broken up into cooking stations, each containing all the necessary tools to complete the dish. We believe hands-on experiences allow students to learn and practice the techniques used to apply them later.

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?:
No

A brief description of the food recovery competition or commitment program or food waste prevention system:
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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:
Dining Services has been trayless since 2009 to minimize food waste, conserve energy and water, and reduce the number of cleaning chemicals entering the waste stream.

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:
The Arboretum donates all unconsumed, harvested produce and herbs to Knights Helping Knights pantry on a daily basis. This facility is open to all students free of charge.

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)?:
No

A brief description of the food materials diversion program:
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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 Arboretum grounds have a small scale pre-consumer composting program that is used in the community garden on campus.

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a post-consumer composting program?:
No

A brief description of the post-consumer composting program:
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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:
Dining Services uses reusable service ware for dine-in meals to minimize food waste, conserve energy and water, and reduce the number of cleaning chemicals entering the waste stream.

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:
Dining Services provides one complimentary reusable To-Go containers to every meal plan member. Members may bring their used to-go containers to either ’63 South or Knightro’s throughout the duration of the agreement to exchange for a clean to-go container. The dining member must return the to-go container at the end of the membership agreement to the UCF Dining Services Office. If a to-go container is deemed unusable due to loss or damage, a $15.00 fee will be charged to the Member’s myUCF account.

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:
Many dining service locations provide discounts to customers who bring their own cup. For example, Aramark coffee shop locations offer $0.99 coffee refills for reusable mugs 7 days a week, all day.

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)?:
No

A brief description of other dining services materials management initiatives:
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Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
https://ucf.campusdish.com/

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.