University of Massachusetts Boston
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Dining services showcases suppliers in a vendor fair

There are monthly pop-ups which aim to introduce new choices to customers and encourage them to try new food items. Educational materials are provided next to the samples, such as information about the benefits of a plant-based diet for health and the environmental impact of sustainable food sourcing.

Umass Boston dining services supports local small and medium-sized enterprises through partnerships. Approximately 25% of all food served is sourced locally and from small businesses. Examples of our business partnerships include:
- Red's Best Seafood: a local company dedicated to offering responsibly sourced fish and sea food, which is caught just miles from campus.
- Northeast Organic Family Farm: An organization which supports family farms by distributing organic dairy products from local regions.
- Baldor: A distributor company for local farms, including Lowell Farms and Wards Berry Farms

Dining Services holds several events each month to promote mindful menu items. Mindful offerings meet stringent nutritional criteria based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Each meal part is limited in calories, has fewer than 30% of calories as fat, fewer than 10 % of calories as saturated fat, and is restricted in sodium, and cholesterol. These menu items are often vegetarian or vegan.

There are frequently sampling tables outside of the dining hall where customers are able to learn and taste food that is nutritious and sustainable. The food that is sampled is offered in one of the many dining locations across campus.

Planta is our plant-based nacho bar in the Dining Commons, featuring house fried chips, black bean salsa’s, avocado slaws, and roasted corn. Many of our stations campus wide feature a variety of plant-forward options, from black bean burgers on Flame and Roasted tofu on Fuze in the dining commons to Impossible Whoppers at Burger King.

Dining services makes an effort to offer a wider variety of food options for individuals consuming a plant-based or vegan diet. There is a diet key on each menu item to indicate to customers which menu items are vegan, vegetarian, and plant-based. Many of these menu items include complete-protein vegan options.

Examples:
- Rustic roots: features protein, vegetables, and starch twice a day, seven days a week. Diverse menus range from chicken fried tofu & grits with “bechamel” gravy, spicy vegan pumpkin curry and even shoyu ramen with char siu. Breakfast options may include southwest tofu scramble, black bean vegan breakfast tacos and chickpea hash on toast
- Plant-based nacho station
- Swirl: all smoothies and smoothie bowls are plant based, vegetarian, and dairy free. Option to add plant-based protein powder
- Chow: Has a vegan bowl and a make your own stir fry option, with veggie and protein options
- Pho Nam: vegetable options and tofu
- Tres Habanero: Protein options include cauliflower and plant-based shreds
- The farmers fridge: offers several complete-protein vegan options

At the entry of the dining hall, there are bulletin which are regularly updated to inform customers about sustainability and nutrition. The signage includes the following:
- How food waste is tracked and managed using Leanpath
- Pre-consumer and post-consumer composting
- Xpress Napkin Holders which reduce waste and are made from 100% recycled paper
- Purchasing from local food suppliers
- Trayless dining locations to help reduce food waste

There is a large map that shows the locations of local farms and gardens in Massachusetts, that UMass Boston partners with. Purchasing local food is sustainable because it reduces greenhouse gas emissions, as it requires less transportation. Other local food supplies are posted on the signs, including Zeppy's Bakers, Red's Best Seafood, and Montillio's.

Many of the menu items in the dining hall have symbols next to them. The symbols are to notify customers which menu options are vegetarian, vegan, halal, plant-based, or "mindful".

Dining services also celebrate a harvest of the month. The purpose of this is to educate customers about the nutritional and environmental benefits of consuming and producing the monthly produce item. Dining services also hosts tabling events outside of the dining hall where the community can learn more. For example, the December 2022 Harvest of the Month was Butternut Squash. The signage included environmental impacts, comparing the difference in emissions to produce a pound of butternut squash to a pound of beef.

There are signs that list other in-season produce items to encourage customers to purchase these items. In-season produce reduces transportation and is higher in nutrients due to timely harvesting.

Sodexo supports the initiative, Future 50 Foods, and has partnered with Knorr and WWF-UK to bring this initiative to many of its clients. There are signs and QR codes in the dining hall for customers to learn more. The aim of this initiative is to diversify diets in order to improve human and environmental health. Many of these food items are incorporated into menus and served around campus. More about the program can be found here: https://www.sodexo.com/inspired-thinking/future-50-transforming-your-workplace.html

Dining services participates in Leanpath, which uses technology to measure and keep track of all food waste. The data collected from Leanpath keeps track of what is being wasted, how much, and why. It also tracks the financial and environmental impacts based on the type and amount of food wasted. The platform allows dining services to understand what behavior changes need to be made in order to reduce food waste.

UMass Boston has recently joined the Food Recovery Network. Through this program UMB will further reduce waste by diverting food from the landfills and donating food to organizations and non-profits.

All dining locations are tray-less to help reduce food waste.

Day old pastries and packaged foods that would go to waste, are sent to the universities food pantry (U-ACCESS). The U-ACCESS food pantry is available for students who are experiencing food insecurity.

The Dining Commons has a robust composting program through EMOS. They take our compost and process it into fertilizer. https://eomsrecycling.com/food-waste-composting-organic-recycling/

“Pre-consumer and post-consumer food waste from our kitchen and the dish room is all collected by an off-site waste management vendor to be composted” (UMB dining services)

UMB participates in effective microorganism (EMO) composting for food scraps and veggie trimmings. Compost bins are available in dining locations and throughout campus.

Reusable dishes and metal silverware are available in the resident dining hall.

We use a green to-go container program that allows guests to take a meal out of the Dining Commons to eat at a place of their choice. Students can exchange a used container for a new one or a green carabiner to be exchanged later. The used green containers are then washed and sanitized to be used again.

Individuals receive a beverage discount when they bring a reusable cup to dining locations.

The reusable containers are perfect for students who might be sick, have class at a later time, and simply want to enjoy a quiet meal in their room. Each student on a meal plan is automatically enrolled in the green container program