Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 65.35
Liaison Christa Rieck
Submission Date Nov. 23, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University of Houston
OP-7: Low Impact Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 3.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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Percentage of total dining services food purchases comprised of conventionally produced animal products:
49.40

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A brief description of the methodology used to track/inventory expenditures on animal products:
All invoices are entered into a database that categorizes items by diary, meat, produce, grocery, beverages (non-dairy), retail items, bakery, alcohol, and franchise brand items.

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Does the institution offer diverse, complete-protein vegan dining options at all meals in at least one dining facility on campus?:
Yes

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Does the institution provide labels and/or signage that distinguishes between vegan, vegetarian (not vegan), and other items?:
Yes

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Are the vegan options accessible to all members of the campus community?:
Yes

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A brief description of the vegan dining program, including availability, sample menus, signage and any promotional activities (e.g. “Meatless Mondays”):
Both Cougar Woods and Fresh Food Company offer a variety of vegan items for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Meat-free items can be found at each station in both dining facilities. In addition, Fresh Food Company has a vegetarian station, which often provides a vegan entrée. Each menu item is made to order, allowing patrons to customize their food to fit a vegan diet. UHDS also participates in Meatless Monday, a national campaign that encourages going meatless once day a week to benefit our health as well as the health of the environment. You can swap meat for tofu or beans at each station within the Fresh Food Company.

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A brief description of other efforts the institution has made to reduce the impact of its animal-derived food purchases:
Not only does the dining program seek local, plant-based food, we also encourage our community to do so. Our campus dietitian has programming to correspond with Meatless Monday, World Vegetarian Day, and World Food Day. Each event emphasizes the importance of buying more fruits and veggies while limiting animal-derived products often. The dietitian also hosts regular cooking demonstrations and nutrition workshops highlighting the importance of incorporating plant-based foods.

The website URL where information about the vegan dining program is available:
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Annual dining services expenditures on food:
5,510,803 US/Canadian $

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Annual dining services expenditures on conventionally produced animal products:
2,723,320 US/Canadian $

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Annual dining services expenditures on sustainably produced animal products:
0 US/Canadian $

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
List of Vegan menu items: http://univofhouston.campusdish.com/SearchResults.aspx?search=vegan

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.