| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 66.39 |
| Liaison | Shane Stennes |
| Submission Date | Dec. 15, 2015 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
OP-7: Low Impact Dining
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.12 / 3.00 |
Alyssa
Lundberg Sustainability Coordinator University Dining Services |
Percentage of total dining services food purchases comprised of conventionally produced animal products:
A brief description of the methodology used to track/inventory expenditures on animal products:
We purchase the majority of our food through Sysco who provides us with annual purchasing reports. Additional meat purchases are made through the University of Minnesota's Andrew Boss Meat Lab and are tracked by both our team and the Meat Lab and reviewed annually.
Does the institution offer diverse, complete-protein vegan dining options at all meals in at least one dining facility on campus?:
Does the institution provide labels and/or signage that distinguishes between vegan, vegetarian (not vegan), and other items?:
Are the vegan options accessible to all members of the campus community?:
A brief description of the vegan dining program, including availability, sample menus, signage and any promotional activities (e.g. “Meatless Mondays”):
Our dining program offers a total of 86 vegan entrees as part of our recipe collection to be rotated through throughout the year. In addition to these entrees we offer many vegan choices or substitutions at our dining stations such as a veggie burger at our grill station by request any day/meal of the week.
In addition to our menu offerings we focus on Mindful Monday's where we highlight low impact dining such as vegan. Throughout the year we identify several events such as World Veg Day to highlight a special vegan item and to foster discussion around the impact of eating less animal based products.
Sample Menu:
Breakfast Items:
Tofu-Potato Hash
Vegan Home-Style Pancakes
Spiced Breakfast Quinoa
Entrees:
Harvest Sauté with Bulgur
Southwest Sweet Potato
Butternut & Black Bean Chili
Chickpea Panchmael
A brief description of other efforts the institution has made to reduce the impact of its animal-derived food purchases:
We continually strive to increase availability and variety of vegan and vegetarian options within our dining program and highlight these efforts through special events, on our website and through station signage and communication through staff such as our health and wellness and sustainability coordinators.
An example of such an event was our Meatless Meal for Earth Day where we served only vegan and vegetarian items in our dining halls and hosted tabling events to highlight the benefits of reducing meat consumption.
Finally, we are working to source more sustainable animal derived products such as locally raised, cage free, and grass fed as much as possible.
The website URL where information about the vegan dining program is available:
Annual dining services expenditures on food:
Annual dining services expenditures on conventionally produced animal products:
Annual dining services expenditures on sustainably produced animal products:
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.