Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 69.14
Liaison Olivia Wiebe
Submission Date Dec. 28, 2023

STARS v2.2

University of Idaho
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.75 / 2.00 Monalisa Prasad
National Director of Sustainability
Chartwells
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Sustainable dining initiatives

Local community engagement

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host a farmers market, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery program, or urban agriculture project, or support such a program in the local community?:
Yes

A brief description of the farmers market, CSA or urban agriculture project:
Idaho Eats partners and support the student group named the Hydroponics Clubs by featuring two Hydroponic Gardens in the main dining and purchasing their leftover produce that wasn't sold at the Moscow Winter Market.

The Soil Stewards student-led organic farm holds Harvest sales during the peak harvest seasons. The sales are every Thursday 4-6 p.m. from the end of June through October. On average, 20-30 campus and community members visit the stand. 2-4 students from the club work in the booth, depending on the week and season. The sales include all the seasonal vegetables the farm produces and selections change throughout the summer that are always harvested the day of sale. There is also a Community Supported Agriculture weekly box that provides members with fresh produce.

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:
Idaho Eats serves fair trade certified coffee that is USDA Organic and Rainforest Certified at multiple locations across the University of Idaho campus. In addition, Idaho Eats partners with local favorite One World Cafe who serves Landgrove Coffee, roasted locally in Troy, ID, with many different varieties of beans, many of them fair-traded.

The Eatery offers a dedicated plant-based station that provides a variety of vegetarian and vegan meals for lunch and dinner. Other plant-based items are served in the Eatery and identified by the Balanced U Icon system, specifically the vegetarian and vegan icons. In addition, the Eatery offers an allergen-free station that serves food that excludes the top 9 allergens.

Plant-based food like black bean burgers, Impossible meat, vegetable wraps are available throughout the other Idaho Eats dining locations.

Inclusive and local sourcing

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor support disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through its food and beverage purchasing?:
Yes

A brief description of the support for disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
The University of Idaho strives to purchase locally and seasonally whenever possible, whether it's an event in the dining hall or an exclusive catered meal. The University of Idaho supports local SMEs through the purchasing of their goods and products.
In addition, Chartwells at the University of Idaho purchases from local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from Cuesta Ice, Moscow Co-Op, Vandal Brand Meats, UI's Hydroponic Club, and the Moscow Rotary Club. The Market on campus features Partake Cookies and Pipcorn.

Through Charlies Produce (1,000 associates / larger than medium size), UI purchases fruits and vegetables from the following local farms: Sunset Produce, Davidson Commodities, Northern Fruit Co. and Ostrom Mushroom Farms.

Estimated percentage of total food and beverage expenditures on products from disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
0.04

Low-impact dining

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host low impact dining events or promote plant-forward options?:
Yes

A brief description of the low impact dining events and/or plant-forward options:
The dining hall features a dedicated vegan and vegetarian station, called Rooted. The dining hall also offers plant-based alternatives in retail dining locations and through catering services.

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:
All dining facilities supply robust well-built vegan and vegetarian options. The Dining hall (Eatery) always served a plant-based option at the dedicated vegan and vegetarian station. Plant-based alternatives are available at all retail dining locations and catering services.

Labelling and signage 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor inform customers about low impact food choices and sustainability practices through labelling and signage in dining halls?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability labelling and signage in dining halls:
Food waste tips and monthly scores are posted on signage in front of the dish return. There is also signage promoting locally sourced items. Anything that is plant-based is labeled, as is vegan and vegetarian options. The dining hall also features icons that are certified by HowGood, that indicate if the recipe has an environmental and social impact better than a specified % of other food based on HowGood’s database of over 2 million products.

Part 2. Food waste minimization and recovery

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the food recovery competition or commitment program or food waste prevention system:
Internal waste-tracking system 'Waste Not' tracks post-production food waste. Pre-consumer food waste is weighed and tracked at each Idaho Eats dining location, then used to determine improvements for food waste reduction in food prep and portioning.

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:
The University of Idaho went trayless in September 2010 and reduced post-consumer food waste by approximately 60%. In addition, hot water and dishwashing chemicals were reduced by approximately 40%.

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:
Food is donated monthly. Jack and Olive prepackaged items and cases of fresh produce have been donated to the West Side Food Pantry in Moscow, Idaho. Non-perishable foods past their best-use date are donated to the on-campus Vandal Food Pantry.

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?:
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?:
No

A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program:
There is currently no pre-consumer composting program. However, UI received a grant from the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality to purchase a composting machine that will turn food waste into nutrient-rich compost. The compost will be used in landscaping projects and sold to the community. By fall semester 2024, the composting program will collect food from back-of-house operations.

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:
There is currently no post-consumer composting program. However, the aforementioned composting program will begin as pre-consumer-only collection, and then will eventually expand to include post-consumer food waste.

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:
Durable, melamine plates, bowls, glassware and metal utensils are featured in The Eatery.

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:
Yes, reusable to-go containers are used.

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor offer discounts or other incentives to customers who use reusable containers instead of disposable or compostable containers in “to-go” food service operations?:
Yes

A brief description of the reusable container discount or incentives program:
The Eatery features reusable 3 compartment to-go containers from Planet OZZI, BPA and PFAS Free and Made in the USA.

Optional Fields

A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
Idaho Eats makes it a complementary service for meal plan students to participate in the reusable to-go containers from The Eatery. All other guests can opt in for the program for $10.

Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:
http://dineoncampus.com/uidaho

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Monalisa Prasad, National Director of Sustainability for Chartwells; Idaho Eats

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.