| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 78.48 |
| Liaison | Patrick McKee |
| Submission Date | June 20, 2016 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Connecticut
OP-7: Low Impact Dining
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.28 / 3.00 |
Eric
Grulke Sustainability Coordinator Office of Environmental Policy |
Percentage of total dining services food purchases comprised of conventionally produced animal products:
A brief description of the methodology used to track/inventory expenditures on animal products:
It begins with bid writing with our vendors and establishing expectations up front with our signed contracts. An inventory is provided by our vendors. Third party certifiers come at an additional cost. We have built a data base within our food operating system (Food-Pro) and identify items in our inventory that meet the criteria of sustainable food and beverage.
Does the institution offer diverse, complete-protein vegan dining options at all meals in at least one dining facility on campus?:
Does the institution provide labels and/or signage that distinguishes between vegan, vegetarian (not vegan), and other items?:
Are the vegan options accessible to all members of the campus community?:
A brief description of the vegan dining program, including availability, sample menus, signage and any promotional activities (e.g. “Meatless Mondays”):
The University of Connecticut, Department of Dining Services has continuously been voted one of the elite eight vegan friendly colleges and universities in the country, voted number 1 in 2013. Out of 11360 recipes in our food pro information system, 1520 are vegan. This calculates to 13% of total recipes are vegan based.
We are proud to offer vegan options in every one of our facilities on campus to include:
• Eight residential dining halls
• Eight Coffee shops/cafes
• Union street market Food Court
• Farm to table restaurant “One Plate, Two Plate”
• Chuck and Augie’s Restaurant
• UConn Catering
We are a proud user of many vegan based proteins, and was one of the first Universities in the Country to use a pea protein based product-called “Beyond Meat” which is a non GMO, Organic, Gluten Free meatless alternative.
A majority of our Vegan option are prepared on site from scratch. Some of our most popular vegan options are:
*Sweet Potato Kale Burgers
*Vegetable Pakoras
*Falafel
* Moroccan Vegetable Tagine
*Korean Japchae,
*Curried Chickpeas
*Brazilian Vegetable and Bean stews.
*Farro “risotto”
*Rigatoni with white bean ragout
*Eggplant caponata w/ focaccia crostini
We also host our annual “Animal Friendly” Dinner on campus in our Whitney dining facility. This is a 100% vegan dinner promoting the vegan friendly lifestyle.
A brief description of other efforts the institution has made to reduce the impact of its animal-derived food purchases:
UConn purchased $587,133.85 worth of cases of Coleman Chicken last year. It has no antibiotics, hormone free, and is vegetarian fed.
UConn’s “Farm Fresh Market” sells local produce and produce from our student-run gardens and has resulted in an increase of $7,000 in revenue.
100% of all fish purchased is currently sustainable. There is no external certifier. Sysco internally, certifies procurement with a third party audit.
Dining Services’ sustainable mission statement is:
• To operate UConn Dining Services in a way that recognizes the central role that food service plays in the structure of society by initiating innovative ways to improve the quality of life of people, animals, and the environment.
• To reduce our environmental footprint through sustainable practices, waste reduction, insightful procurement practices and working with partners that have sustainable practices where contributions focus on the preservation of the planet.
• To distribute and sell the finest quality of ethical and cruelty free related products in a wide variety of categories and operate Dining Services a good stewards as a food service provider.
The website URL where information about the vegan dining program is available:
Annual dining services expenditures on food:
Annual dining services expenditures on conventionally produced animal products:
Annual dining services expenditures on sustainably produced animal products:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Dining Services is committed to pursuing Green Restaurant certification for all of its dining halls, starting with Buckley Dining Hall in 2013 and continuing with Whitney Dining Hall and Gelfenbien in 2015. All UConn dining halls are tray-less. 4 dining halls use E-Correct in-kitchen decomposers to reduce food waste by 80%. Putnam Dining Hall is using a waste-to-water digester system as a way to reduce waste. DDS also recently purchased 3 EVs for all on-campus catering and other deliveries. DDS has an on-campus Farm-Fresh markets once a week in the summer and fall months and the DDS Local Routes program makes UConn the largest purchaser of local produce in the State of CT. DDS funds staff to help advise and manage student-run organic farms on-campus (EcoGarden and Spring Valley Student Farm).
Dining Services is committed to pursuing Green Restaurant certification for all of its dining halls, starting with Buckley Dining Hall in 2013 and continuing with Whitney Dining Hall and Gelfenbien in 2015. All UConn dining halls are tray-less. 4 dining halls use E-Correct in-kitchen decomposers to reduce food waste by 80%. Putnam Dining Hall is using a waste-to-water digester system as a way to reduce waste. DDS also recently purchased 3 EVs for all on-campus catering and other deliveries. DDS has an on-campus Farm-Fresh markets once a week in the summer and fall months and the DDS Local Routes program makes UConn the largest purchaser of local produce in the State of CT. DDS funds staff to help advise and manage student-run organic farms on-campus (EcoGarden and Spring Valley Student Farm).
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.