| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 53.50 |
| Liaison | Amy Kadrie |
| Submission Date | Jan. 31, 2019 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Rochester
OP-8: Sustainable Dining
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Cameron
Schauf Director Dining Services |
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a published sustainable dining policy?:
A brief description of the sustainable dining policy:
Dining Services' Mission Statement:
~To offer fresh, vibrant, responsibly-sourced food featuring exciting flavors from down the street and across the globe.
~To provide individually-crafted meals that inspire flavor discovery and please every guest who comes to our table.
~To do more than serve the community, but become part of it. From local partnerships to collaborative events, we will help build connections that last a lifetime.
~As a team and as individuals, we will value our differences, our environment, and our individual and collective contributions.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor source food from a campus garden or farm?:
A brief description of the program to source food from a campus garden or farm:
When the campus garden was first established, Dining Services worked closely with the students responsible for this endeavor. We utilized vegetables and herbs from this garden for several years. The garden has had its ups and downs over the ensuing years but we have always been available to work with the student gardeners.
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?:
A brief description of the farmers market, CSA or urban agriculture project:
The University hosts a weekly Farmers Market in the main atrium of the School of Medicine and Dentistry from March through October with one November market and one December market. The University works with a local food hub to provide several University drop-off spots for a boxed CSA. The University helps support a number of urban agriculture projects through a number of community outreach organizations.
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?:
A brief description of the vegan dining program:
There are vegan meals available at every meal every day at all major dining halls on campus. These meals include whole grains and proteins and are considered to be complete. Hillside Market also sells vegan snacks, drinks, and frozen foods. There is also a stand alone vegan station in one of our main dining centers.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host low impact dining events (e.g. Meatless Mondays)?:
A brief description of the low impact dining events:
We have hosted vegan meals. Recently hosted a water footprint dinner and a zero waste dinner.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host sustainability-themed meals (e.g. local harvest dinners)?:
A brief description of the sustainability-themed meals:
Each year we host a Local Foods Week in the fall and in the spring. There are a series of meals and local events celebrating local businesses and local foods.
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?:
A brief description of the sustainability-themed food outlet:
Connections is an operation in our library that specializes in serving local products.
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?:
A brief description of the sustainability labeling and signage in dining halls:
For our special events like local foods week, vegan meals, water footprint, zero waste we use table tents, tabling and posters to tell the story. Everyday we have chalkboards, digital boards, message boards, pictures and sneeze guard clings to tell the story of local farmers, recycling, composting and sustainable dining.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor engage in outreach efforts to support learning and research about sustainable food systems?:
A brief description of the outreach efforts to support learning and research about sustainable food systems:
Dining hires 6 students to serve as its "Team Green". They do research and outreach including videos of our local partners, videos of our reusable programs, open forums and tabling events.
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)?:
A brief description of the other sustainability-related dining initiatives:
Dining includes a campus nutritionist who puts on health and wellness programs and collaborates with other campus departments on programming. Those other departments include University Health Services, Well-U and Athletics. We serve a wide variety of culturally diverse menus throughout campus. One of our favorite special dinners is our Global Local Dinner featuring recipes from around the world using local ingredients. We partner with a variety of the cultural groups for this event.
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?:
A brief description of the food recovery competition or commitment program or food waste prevention system:
We participate in the Food Recover Network and work to control our waste with LeanPath.
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?:
A brief description of the trayless dining or modified menu/portion program:
In further efforts to decrease waste production, Danforth Dining Hall went "tray-less" for Earth Day, April 22nd 2008. Since then, trays have been eliminated in all dining halls, resulting in less water and energy used for cleaning, as well as a decrease in food waste.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor donate food that would otherwise go to waste to feed people?:
A brief description of the food donation program:
While the University is in shutdown, (mid-December to mid-January) produce, cheese, milk, and other food stuffs are donated to the local Foodlink. We also work with a student group and the Food Recovery Network on sending daily leftovers to local soup kitchens.
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)?:
A brief description of the food materials diversion program:
We have a used oil to bio-fuel program and we divert all of our cooking oil not used in the bio-fuel program to other industrial uses. We have a bio-digestor in one of our residential facilities.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a pre-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program:
Compostable materials generated in meal preparation are collected in every kitchen on the River Campus.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a post-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the post-consumer composting program:
Dining Services composted between 5,000 and 10,000 lbs of post-consumer organic waste per month in 2007 with Freshwise Farms.The composting program has since expanded, and in the 08/09 school year, the University sent 66,210 lbs of compost to Freshwise Farms, one of our produce suppliers. Currently, all waste from major dining halls are composted by Waste Management and transported to a composting test site in Fairport.
We collect post-consumer compost in one of our residential dining facilities and pre-consumer in all of the locations.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor utilize reusable service ware for “dine in” meals?:
A brief description of the reusable service ware program:
The two residential dining facilities use reusable ware almost exclusively. For the few items that aren't reusable we use compostable.
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)?:
A brief description of the compostable containers and service ware:
Dining Services sells clamshells: a reusable container for food that can be used at any of the dining halls for on-the-go eating. It costs 5$ in meal plan money. There are pickup and drop off bins to return dirty clamshells and pick up clean ones at the major campus dining halls. This year, we started giving these containers to first year students at no charge.
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?:
A brief description of the reusable container discount or incentives program:
Dining incentivizes customers to use reusable mugs by giving them a discount on their coffee or tea. The reusable mugs are not provided to the students, but are available for purchase at several locations. Dining Services also gives a 5% discount for using reusable bags in the campus market. There is a punch card program to incentivize the use of reusable mugs.
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)?:
A brief description of other dining services materials management initiatives:
We work with several local bakers to use reusable containers for their deliveries. Working with our food hub on the delivery of local fruits and vegetables in reusable plastic tubs. Also working on bulk packaging to minimize waste.
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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.