| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 50.92 |
| Liaison | Gretchen Vanicor |
| Submission Date | June 22, 2021 |
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
OP-8: Sustainable Dining
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.35 / 2.00 |
Monica
Rowand Coordinator Office of Sustainability |
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?:
A brief description of the farmers market, CSA or urban agriculture project:
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?:
A brief description of the sustainability-themed food outlet:
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?:
A brief description of the support for disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
Sodexo purchases a large percentage of their food from local vendors, ie Gulf Coast Produce, Louisiana Seafood and the other vendors located nearby.
Estimated percentage of total food and beverage expenditures on products from disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host low impact dining events or promote plant-forward options?:
A brief description of the low impact dining events and/or plant-forward options:
National days like Vegetarian Day, Vegan Day, Guacamole Day, etc. are celebrated and the Dining Services social media account posts daily about what is available at the Vegetarian Action Station.
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?:
A brief description of the vegan dining program:
There is an action station in the main dining hall devoted solely to meatless and vegan meal options. The made-to-order Vegetarian Action Station can accommodate a Vegen diet. The base entree of all of the dishes on that particular action station are vegan, they can remain vegan or things like cheese and other vegetarian rather than vegan options are available to add on in the action process.
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?:
A brief description of the sustainability labelling and signage in dining halls:
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?:
A brief description of the food recovery competition or commitment program or food waste prevention system:
The University participates with the Food Recovery Network and partners with the local Feeding America affiliate, Second Harvest, to recover food from the dining hall and athletics events.
UL Dining Services has been chosen as a test site to implement LeanPath software for its planning. Once implemented, this should reduce waste in food preparation.
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?:
A brief description of the trayless dining or modified menu/portion program:
Trays were removed from dining hall operations years ago.
In Spring 2019, the plates and bowls used throughout the dining hall were changed out for smaller versions. Only the entrée plates remain at the previous larger size. Dining staff has seen a significant reduction in waste based on how often they have to take out trash cans.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor donate food that would otherwise go to waste to feed people?:
A brief description of the food donation program:
We partner with the local Feeding America affiliate, Second Harvest, to recover food from the dining hall and athletics events. In the Fall semester of 2019 we recovered 2,897 pounds of food.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor divert food materials from the landfill, incinerator or sewer for animal feed or industrial uses?:
A brief description of the food materials diversion program:
Used cooking oil is collected cleaned and eventually collected by the FiltaFry service. https://www.gofilta.com/services/oil-filtration-active-fryer-management
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a pre-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program:
While we do not yet have a pre-consumer composting program, we are working on a windrow-composting solution for all organic waste created by our operations.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a post-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the post-consumer composting program:
The University has a pilot compost program where we collect post-consumer compostables from football games. In the Fall 2019 football season we composted 10771 pounds of material. This is without the existence of a commercial compost option in the area. We are working on a plan to expand this pilot program to pre-consumer composting and more post-consumer collections.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor utilize reusable service ware for “dine in” meals?:
A brief description of the reusable service ware program:
All meals served at Cypress Lake Dining hall are served on durable china.
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)?:
A brief description of the compostable containers and service ware:
While we don’t yet have on-site composting, certified compostable materials are used for all to-go containers and we are in the process of implementing a reusable to-go container program.
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?:
A brief description of the reusable container discount or incentives program:
A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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.