Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 68.18
Liaison Marianne Martin
Submission Date Dec. 3, 2024

STARS v3.0

University of Colorado Boulder
OP-8: Food Recovery

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.50 / 2.00 Paul Houle
Executive Director
Campus Dining Services and University Memorial Center
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

8.1 Food recovery program

Does the institution donate surplus food to a food redistribution program on at least a monthly basis when its dining services are operational?:
No

Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the institution’s surplus food donation program:
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Do the institution’s dining services divert pre-consumer food waste from disposal for processing and use as animal feed, compost, and/or biofuel?:
Yes

Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the institution’s pre-consumer food waste diversion program:

https://www.colorado.edu/living/sustainability

We have a parnerhsip with a local farm, Golden Hoof for preconsumer food scrpas for animal feed.


Do the institution’s dining services divert post-consumer food waste from disposal for processing and use as animal feed, compost, and/or biofuel?:
Yes

Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the institution’s post-consumer food waste diversion program:

https://www.colorado.edu/living/sustainability

Post consumer waste is diverted to compost with Eco-Cycle


Do the institution’s dining services track and assess their food and organic materials management efforts on at least an annual basis to inform ongoing improvements?:
Yes

Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the institution’s food and organic materials management tracking and assessment initiatives:

There are several ways Campus Dining Services (CDS) tracks and communicates over-production to help reduce food waste in the future.

  1. Our food service software, CBORD, allows us to input our “actuals” each day. This tracks how many portions we forecasted, prepared, and served, and whether we ran out or not. An example of this Service Line Worksheet has been attached. Staff make adjustments based on what is reported in this form. This principle is outlined in #20 on the Menus Standards document that is also attached.
  2. Everyday, our chefs are communicating with each other about any ingredients that may have been leftover from the previous day and find ways to utilize it in the following days’ service. There is not currently a formal way of documenting these types of interactions, but they do happen daily and at every level and every operation. All of our chefs are formally trained in proper food safety, and we utilize proper chilling, cold holding and reheating of leftovers as a great way to reduce potential food waste each day.
  3. Regarding batch cooking—this is a core Menu Standard principle for Campus Dining. Please see attached—it is #2 on the list. Due to the layout of our kitchens, we are able to produce menu items by the batch (for example, one wok of stir fry at a time), as opposed to the entire meal periods’ needs at one time. An example of an area that can’t produce batch cooked menu items is an area like catering. They are having to produce all of the food they anticipate needing, transport it to a different location, and what is made is made, and any leftover will therefore be wasted. In residential dining, our stations are set up to prepare menu items right there for the buffet line, so they are able to see when it is time to produce more, and when to back off because we are getting slower. 

See "Additional documentation for this credit" for the document referenced in this narrative


The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following figure:

Points earned for indicator OP 8.1:
1.50

Optional documentation

Notes about the information provided for this credit:
Additional documentation for this credit:

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