Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 65.09
Liaison Shane Stennes
Submission Date Jan. 11, 2023

STARS v2.2

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Carley Rice
Sustainability Coordinator
Facilities Management
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Sustainable dining initiatives

Local community engagement

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the farmers market, CSA or urban agriculture project:
Aramark partnered with The Good Acre to host a pickup location for students participating in their CSA program.

The Good Acre CSA:Whether you join our Full Season, Late Season or Harvest Season Farm Share, know that you are doing something great for our network of small, independent, and local farmers. As a non-profit food hub, our Farm Share program offerings are one of the best ways that we put our mission into action — supporting our farmers with fair prices and technical support while providing you with access to a beautiful array of healthy produce.
https://thegoodacre.org/farm-share-overview/

Sustainability-themed outlet

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?:
No

A brief description of the sustainability-themed food outlet:
---

Inclusive and local sourcing

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the support for disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
Aramark Supply Chain works with our local team to identify small and disadvantaged businesses within our network of suppliers and distributors. We also look to identify local suppliers that meet this criteria through our involvment in university hosted supplier diversity expo events, and report on our progress quarterly to the Office of Business and Economic Development.

Estimated percentage of total food and beverage expenditures on products from disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
5

Low-impact dining

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host low impact dining events or promote plant-forward options?:
Yes

A brief description of the low impact dining events and/or plant-forward options:
Vegan and Vegetarian entrees are available at all locations during every meal period, and are accuratley labled on menus. Our Registered Dietician hosts regular events to promote these menu options, and our Sustainability Coordinator hosts climate friendly menu events in an effort to drive demand for these menu items.

Vegan dining program 

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the vegan dining program:
Complete vegan options are available at all dining locations for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 30% of Aramark's menus are vegan, vegetarian, or plant-forward.

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

Labelling and signage 

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability labelling and signage in dining halls:
All vegan, vegetarian, and plant-forward options are labeled on nutrition cards and on digital menu boards. Additional signage is used in certain locations to describe the water footprint of various menu options.

Part 2. Food waste minimization and recovery

Food recovery program

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the food recovery competition or commitment program or food waste prevention system:
M Dining partners with Food Recovery Network to unite students to fight food waste and hunger by recovering surplus food from retail locations, catering, & stadiums and donating it to local charities.https://www.aramark.com/environmental-social-governance/climate-impact/minimize-food-waste

Trayless dining and portion modifications 

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the trayless dining or modified menu/portion program:
Trays have not been used in Residential dining locations in well over a decade. Employees are trained on proper portioning of each menu item, aligning with posted nutritional information.

Food donation 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor donate food that would otherwise go to waste to feed people?:
Yes

A brief description of the food donation program:
Aramark parnters with the Food Donation Connection to facilitate a food donation program: https://www.foodtodonate.com

Food materials diversion 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor divert food materials from the landfill, incinerator or sewer for animal feed or industrial uses?:
Yes

A brief description of the food materials diversion program:
All food waste gets composted through the University's contract vendor, Specialized Equipment Technologies, an off-site composting commercial facility. Fryer Oil is collected and recycled from all campus dining locations

Composting 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a pre-consumer composting program?:
Yes

A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program:
All pre-consumer food waste from dining locations is collected and weighed by production staff before being discared in compost bins.

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a post-consumer composting program?:
Yes

A brief description of the post-consumer composting program:
All food and napkin waste from the dish return in Residential locations is composted. FOH compost bins are available in all retail outlets across campus.

Dine-in service ware 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor utilize reusable service ware for “dine in” meals?:
Yes

A brief description of the reusable service ware program:
Reusable containers are offered to all students on Residential meal plans, free of charge. New, sanitized containers are offered when a customer returns a used container. Retail and coffee locations accept reusable cups and offer a discount for these customers.

Take-away materials 

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)?:
Yes

A brief description of the compostable containers and service ware:
All containers and serviceware offered at campus retail locations are BPI certified compostable, unless national brand standards dictate specific packaging.

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the reusable container discount or incentives program:
Coffee locations typically offer 10 cent discounts for the use of reusable cups. Promotions are often run in these locations, like "first fill free" when purchasing a tumbler at a coffee location.

Optional Fields

A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
Reusable Mug and To-Go Containers:
To reduce waste, University of Minnesota Dining Services offers reusable mugs and to-go containers at retail locations on campus. Coffee cafes sell reusable cups and mugs as well as offer a $0.10 discount in lieu of a paper cup. Over 6,000 customers use reusable mugs annually. Additionally, Bistro West Restaurant, the Continuing Education and Conference Café and all Residential Restaurants offer reusable to-go containers for sale to provide an alternative solution to traditional disposable containers.

Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:
https://www.aramark.com/environmental-social-governance

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
While data for this STARS report was being collected, the University issued an RFP for dining services providers and selected Chartwells to provide services beginning in July 2022. The data above references practices of the prior dining services provider, Aramark.

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.