Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 69.30
Liaison Srinivasan Raghavan
Submission Date Feb. 16, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Missouri
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Srinivasan Raghavan
Sustainability Manager
Sustainability Office
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1: Sustainable Dining Initiatives 

Sustainable Dining Policy

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a published sustainable dining policy?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainable dining policy:
Earthright is a project dedicated to sustainable practices within Campus Dining Services. Our commitment is to make right decisions and take right actions to continually improve each step we affect in this cycle. Join us in our mission and do your part to put the earth right!

On-Campus Sourcing 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor source food from a campus garden or farm?:
Yes

A brief description of the program to source food from a campus garden or farm:
We purchase produce from Bradford Farms, A University of Missouri entity. The produce is grown by Tigers for Community Agriculture.

Local Community Engagement 

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the farmers market, CSA or urban agriculture project:
Bradford Farms (A University of Missouri entity) produce is grown in part by Tigers for Community Agriculture, a CSA program. The MU Sustainability Office hosts a farmer's market on campus.

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:
The university employs a tool known as Zoutrition, which allows the user to search every dining area of campus for meal options and filter the results by dietary needs. Using Zoutrition, any student, staff member, or visitor can quickly and easily determine vegan options at any dining area on campus. Many of the campus dining areas provide vegan and vegetarian options. All vegan dining options are clearly labeled and information regarding each food item’s ingredients are easily available online.

Low-Impact Dining Events 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host low impact dining events (e.g. Meatless Mondays)?:
No

A brief description of the low impact dining events:
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Sustainability-Themed Meals 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host sustainability-themed meals (e.g. local harvest dinners)?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-themed meals:
Taste of Missouri, an annual special event, gives students a chance to meet the producers of great local Missouri foods that MU Campus Dining features on a daily basis at our dining halls.

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:
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Labeling and Signage 

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability labeling and signage in dining halls:
Dining halls have posters that display monthly food waste information specific to the dining hall.

Outreach and Education 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor engage in outreach efforts to support learning and research about sustainable food systems?:
Yes

A brief description of the outreach efforts to support learning and research about sustainable food systems:
Bradford Farms hosts an "Organic Field Day", where they discuss the benefits of organic farming.

Other Initiatives 

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)?:
Yes

A brief description of the other sustainability-related dining initiatives:
The University has a meal transfer program where students can transfer excess meal plan swipes to the Tiger Pantry to help students in need.

Part 2: Food and Dining Waste 

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:
Campus Dining Services has worked closely with the MU Bradford Research and Extension Center (Bradford Farm) on a full–cycle composting project. CDS sends food waste to Bradford Farm to create the farm’s compost material. Then each year, CDS purchases vegetables grown at Bradford Farm to serve across campus. In additional, Bradford Farm uses oil from CDS fryers for bio–diesel in the farm’s tractors.

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:
The University of Missouri initiated a Trayless Dining Week in 2009, and it resulted in large waste reductions. More recently Campus Dining implemented Trayless Dining for Summer Welcome in summer of 2011, response was positive and the continuation of trayless dining was carried over into the Fall and is remains the current practice.

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:
At the end of the semester, Tiger Pantry encourages students to donate their left over swipes for meals to purchase food from the Emporium (mini mart) for the less fortunate. Also, Tigers for Community Agriculture, donated 506 pounds of produce to Tiger Pantry.

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 (e.g. converting cooking oil to fuel, on-site anaerobic digestion)?:
Yes

A brief description of the food materials diversion program:
Bradford Farm uses oil from CDS fryers for bio–diesel in the farm’s tractors.

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:
The University of Missouri collects pre-consumer food waste from eight dining locations on campus: Baja Grill, Dobbs Pavilion, The Mark, MU Student Center, Plaza 900, Rollins Dining Hall, Sabai and Wheatstone Bistro/Starbucks. Students collect the pre-consumer food waste multiple times per week at those locations and it is brought the Bradford Farms for curing.

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:
Campus Dining Services (CDS) has worked closely with the MU Bradford Research and Extension Center (Bradford Farm) on a full–cycle composting project. CDS sends food waste to Bradford Farm to create the farm’s compost material. Then each year, CDS purchases vegetables grown at Bradford Farm to serve 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:
85% of dining operations offer reusable service ware either exclusively or as an option for customers dining in. One operation (Pavilion @ Dobbs) only uses certified compostable service ware for all dine-in meals.

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)?:
No

A brief description of the compostable containers and service ware:
We do not currently use any reusable or compostable containers for to-go meals.

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the reusable container discount or incentives program:
Reusable mugs are available for purchase from both retail (cash) and residential (dining plan) operations. Customers receive a cash discount for bringing a reusable mug in retail operations. Customers using a Campus Dining Service mug in residential operations may get their beverage for free.

Other Materials Management Initiatives 

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)?:
Yes

A brief description of other dining services materials management initiatives:
Campus Dining Services uses computerized tracking to anticipate and prepare only the food that is needed. As less food is wasted, less food is purchased and prepared. Continued reduction in waste reduces energy used in storing, transporting, and producing food. Continued reduction in demand lowers costs and frees up agricultural resources for other purposes. Each week, 100 consecutive trays are randomly sampled at lunch or dinner. All edible food and beverage are collected and weighted (no peels, bones or ice). The total weight is converted to ounces and divided by 100 to get an average per person. This same process is followed at every all-you-care-to-eat facility. The “Waste Not, Want Not” task force is a Mizzou Advantage undergraduate research team involving an interdisciplinary collaboration of students and faculty seeking to understand food waste and how to decrease it on campus. With the support of Campus Dining Services, they are launching a two-week awareness campaign in early November which will involve traditional marketing as well as the use of social media, utilizing the hashtag #RespectZouFood. The team will determine our success by measuring the plate waste generated before and after the intervention and also by tracking the reach of our social media campaign.

Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
http://zoutrition.missouri.edu/zoutrition

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
purchase tons of vegetables locally, including from Bradford farms.

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.