University of Minnesota, Duluth
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

The institution supports a student-run organic farm, the UMD Land Lab, which produces vegetables, apples, honey, cut flowers, and herbs. In FY22, the Land Lab ran a CSA for the campus and had 25 member shares amongst students, faculty, and staff.

UMD Dining Services regularly works with local small and medium sized and social enterprises to source products for campus. A few example businesses include:

• Duluth Coffee Company (Duluth, MN) (Single origin, Direct Trade)
• Bay Produce (Superior, WI) (employs adults with disabilities in greenhouse food production)
• Johnson's Bakery (Duluth, MN) (family-owned, from scratch bakery supplies on-campus outlets with pastries and bakery goods)
• Bayfield Apple Co. (Bayfield, WI) (fresh, seasonal apples, direct from the orchards)
• Superior Fresh (Hixton, WI) (locally aquaculture farmed, non-GMO certified Atlantic salmon that also has the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch "Best Choice" rating)

A much larger number of local SMEs are supported through custom/one-of-a-kind events through Dining's themed meals, catered events, or other specialty events that happen across campus throughout the year. 

At all our Dining venues on campus, we label for the top nine allergens (plus coconut) as well as some dietary preferences including: vegetarian, vegan, halal, sustainably sourced, and local ingredients so that everyday eaters can make sustainability informed choices, including plant-forward options.

Plant based entrees are available on the main line at every meal. Plant based alternatives are available at retail outlets. Digital labels that sync with recipes to display ingredients and denote vegan / vegetarian are in place.

Each year, Dining Services and the Office of Sustainability team up to put on Food Waste Awareness Day in the dining hall (and display messaging on digital signs across campus food outlets). Food Waste Awareness Day includes signage throughout the dining hall to raise awareness about food waste facts and steps to reduce it. Additionally, peer educators are stationed near the dish drop to have eaters scrape their plates into bins, bringing composting to the front of the house and into dining hall users awareness that Dining Services composts plate waste (and prep waste!) every day. This event presents an opportunity for students to ask questions in the moment and typically reaches upwards of 1,200-1,500 people in one day.

UMD Dining Services uses a food forecasting system to accurately estimate food production needs and reduce waste/overproduction. This system is constantly getting feedback each day based on the number of trays of food being produced, used, and leftover in order to improve forecasting for the next time that meal is served. This forecasting has greatly reduced the amount of food that is wasted and composted, creating a more efficient and economically sound food production system.

UMD Dining Services has been trayless in the cafeteria since 2014

This is a recent change, post-COVID. Our local food bank no longer takes bulk food donations and the equipment, supplies, and labor needed to individually package food for donation are cost prohibitive and inaccessible for our campus at this time. We continue to look for a solution that will meet our mutual needs.

UMD Dining sends food scraps to local farmers for pig feed every Thursday -- exact amounts are not tracked. Cooking oil is recycled through Midwest Grease and recycled into products like bio-diesel, crayons, and lipstick.

The main production kitchen puts pre-consumer waste from food prep (potato peels, carrot tops, skins, etc.) into compost collection bins which are sent to the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District (WLSSD) industrial composting facility in Duluth.

Food waste on plates that are returned through the dish drop in the dining center is pulped in the dish room using a state of the art pulper that reduces the water content of the food waste and creates a consistent material input for composting. The pulped food waste is then picked up and sent to WLSSD's industrial composting facility and is used with other yard waste to make Garden Green compost. UMD offers public compost collection bins across campus to collect food scraps, compostable disposables, etc. Over 90% of the disposable to-go products offered in the UMD Dining retail outlets (UMD Food Court, Northern Shores Coffee Shop, Studio 1218) are compostable and can be placed in any compost bin on campus, eventually making their way to WLSSD's industrial compost facility in west Duluth.

The UMD Dining Center (or DC) offers virtually waste-free dining. All silverware, plates, bowls, and cups are washed and re-used. Plate-waste is collected for composting. UMD catering (the required vendor for on-campus events with food) also offers reusable service ware as an option for any catered event.

Yes. UMD utilizes reusable containers for takeaway meals from the Dining Center and Food Court (green Ozzi boxes with our own return system in the entry of the Dining Center). One reusable container replaces on average 300+ single-use to-go boxes. Customers in the food court can still get their meals to-go without opting into the container program, however, as of January 2022, there is an additional $0.50 upcharge for compostable to-go containers, making the $5 opt-in cost for the reusable containers very appealing! Pre-packed, "grab-n-go" items made on-site by Dining Services are packaged in BPI certified Greenware packaging, ensuring compatibility with our compost contractor, WLSSD, and enabling campus users to dispose of this packaging in the compost bins available across campus.

Purchase a specially-branded reusable mug from a participating campus Dining location OR bring your own mug or cup. Each time you use a reusable mug or cup you will receive a $0.50 discount on your drink at a participating retail location. *If you bring your own reusable mug or cup it must be a standard size (16-22 oz) and it NEEDS to be clean.

UMD Dining services instituted a Sustainability Policy in 2021 that outlines goals and expectations around sustainability, including the goal of being a zero-waste-to-landfill facility by 2025.