| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 54.80 |
| Liaison | Daniel Dixon |
| Submission Date | March 1, 2019 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Maine
OP-8: Sustainable Dining
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Karina
Graeter Sustainability Coordinator Office of Sustainability |
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a published sustainable dining policy?:
A brief description of the sustainable dining policy:
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor source food from a campus garden or farm?:
A brief description of the program to source food from a campus garden or farm:
UMaine Dining purchases salad greens from UMaine Greens, a student organization that grows salad greens. Dining also purchases food from the student run CSA, the Black Bear Food Guild.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host a farmers market, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery program, and/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:
UMaine hosts the Orono Farmer's Market on its campus throughout the summer and fall. UMaine also supports the Black Bear Food Guild, a student-run CSA.
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:
UMaine strives to support vegan dining at all meals in a number of ways, including offering at least one vegan entree at every meal, offering non-dairy milk, labeling vegan entrees, labeling vegan desserts, promoting vegan options, and partnering with students to distribute vegan food. In addition, Wells Central dining location features an all-vegan food station.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host low impact dining events (e.g. Meatless Mondays)?:
A brief description of the low impact dining events:
UMaine hosts at least two zero-waste events each year, on New Student Orientation and Maine Day.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host sustainability-themed meals (e.g. local harvest dinners)?:
A brief description of the sustainability-themed meals:
Each year, UMaine dining hosts a Harvest Week, featuring local Maine food items at all meals. This culminates in the Annual Harvest Dinner.
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 inform customers about low impact food choices and sustainability practices through labeling and signage in dining halls?:
A brief description of the sustainability labeling and signage in dining halls:
There is a significant effort in UMaine Dining to promote low impact food choices and sustainability practices in the dining facilities, including: Signs highlighting local foods; food labels indicating vegan, vegetarian, and dairy-free options; signage on napkin dispensers highlighting local foods and ways to reduce waste; and signage about zero-sort recycling.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor engage in outreach efforts to support learning and research about sustainable food systems?:
A brief description of the outreach efforts to support learning and research about sustainable food systems:
UMaine Dining works closely with the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions to support student learning and research about sustainable food systems. This includes a series of talks about sustainable food systems, and the Maine Farm to Institution Research Project.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have other sustainability-related initiatives (e.g. health and wellness initiatives, making culturally diverse options available)?:
A brief description of the other sustainability-related dining initiatives:
The Healthy UMaine dining initiative includes featuring a local seasonal vegetable of the day and includes many DineSmart menu options. Dinesmart items must be less than 600 calories, have no trans-fat, be grilled, broiled, baked, steamed (not fried), have no heavy cream or butter, and have an emphasis on whole grains.
UMaine Dining supports a number of multicultural dining events throughout the year, including the Celebrate Maine Dinner, Taste of the World Dinner, and Multicultural Thanksgiving.
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:
UMaine is an active participant in the EPA Food Recovery Challenge, and was a 2015 Regional Award Winner.
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:
UMaine has implemented trayless dining at many of its locations.
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:
UMaine Green Campus Initiative works in partnership with the UMaine Green Team to recover leftover food from UMaine Dining. Each week, excess food from the dining halls is collected and delivered the Black Bear Food Pantry, an on-campus food pantry for UMaine students, faculty, staff, and families.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor divert food materials from the landfill, incinerator or sewer for animal feed or industrial uses (e.g. converting cooking oil to fuel, on-site anaerobic digestion)?:
A brief description of the food materials diversion program:
The dish room at Wells Central incorporates a food digester that uses microorganisms to break down food waste in much the same way your stomach does. The digestion turns solid food wastes into a liquid form. The fluid goes straight into the floor drain in the dish room, then into our grease trap. The Food Digester diverts good waste from landfills, and it saves in transportation cost and associated energy use.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a pre-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program:
UMaine composts pre-consumer food waste in an on-campus facility.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a post-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the post-consumer composting program:
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:
Reusable service ware is used in all dining rooms. They are not provided in the Bear’s Den Market Place, an a la carte take out food station.
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:
Yes, UMaine has a GreenToGo reusable container program.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor offer discounts or other incentives to customers who use reusable containers (e.g. mugs) instead of disposable or compostable containers in “to-go” food service operations?:
A brief description of the reusable container discount or incentives program:
UMaine dining Halls and cafes offer a discount of 25 cents or more for bringing a reusable mug for hot drinks.
Has the institution or its primary dining services contractor implemented other materials management initiatives to minimize waste not covered above (e.g. working with vendors and other entities to reduce waste from food packaging)?:
A brief description of other dining services materials management initiatives:
UMaine works to reduce waste by actively adjusting food purchasing to reduce over-purchasing and waste. There is a menu management system in place that tracks all food purchases and based on previous meals calculates how much food should be purchased the next time the same menu items are served.
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives 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.