Overall Rating	Gold
Overall Score	65.26
Liaison	Matt Wolsfeld
Submission Date	March 21, 2023

STARS v2.2

University of Saskatchewan
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status	Score	Responsible Party
	2.00 / 2.00	Matt Wolsfeld Community Engagement Co-ordinator Office of Sustainability

"---" 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:

The Campus Farmer's Market was launched in September 2016. The program is a collaboration between the Office of Sustainability, the Student's Union and the Saskatoon Farmer's Market.

Having gone on hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Campus Market is currently redeveloping its location, schedule, and vendors lists; however, it is planned to continue in the coming year.

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?:

A brief description of the sustainability-themed food outlet:

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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:

Local SMEs purchased from in 2022 include:

Aunt Kathy's Homestyle Product
Waldheim, SK-based food supplier for home-made baking, pizza, subs, traditional perogies, cabbage rolls, and more. Gross annual sales do not exceed CAD$50m.

Dairyland
The origin of Dairyland products were evaluated as part of the Localize inventory. A majority of the source dairy is from local family owned dairy farms. The location where individual dairy products are produced was also evaluated. It was determined that the production of the fluid dairy and yogurt products occurs in Saskatoon. This could not be confirmed for other products (butter, cottage cheese, sour cream).

Earth Angel Farm
Saskatoon, SK Family-owned business. Gross annual sales do not exceed CAD$50m.

Floating Gardens Ltd.
Osler, SK Family-owned business. Gross annual sales do not exceed CAD$50m.

Nestors Bakery Ltd.
Saskatoon, SK-based bakery. Gross annual sales do not exceed CAD$50m.

Prairie Meats
Saskatoon-based, family-owned meat supplier. Gross annual sales do not exceed CAD$50m.

Rivendale Cattle Company
Warman, SK-based Mennonite farms. Gross annual sales do not exceed CAD$50m.

Riverside Meats
Warman, SK-based farms. Gross annual sales do not exceed CAD$50m.

Great Western Breweries
Saskatoon, SK-based brewery. Gross annual sales do not exceed CAD$50m.

Lucky Bastard Distillery
Saskatoon-based distillery. Gross annual sales do not exceed CAD$50m.

Rebellion Brewery
Regina-based brewery. Gross annual sales do not exceed CAD$50m.

Paddockwood Brewery
Saskatoon-based brewery. Gross annual sales do not exceed CAD$50m.

Star Egg Co. Ltd.
Saskatoon-based egg supplier. Gross annual sales do not exceed CAD$50m.

Three Farmers Foods Inc.
Saskatchewan family farms. Gross annual sales do not exceed CAD$50m.

Treen Packers Ltd.
Swift Current-based company that is within 250 miles to USask. Gross annual sales do not exceed CAD$50m.

True North Micro Farms
Saskatoon-based family business. Gross annual sales do not exceed CAD$50m.

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

19.13

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:

Culinary Services hosts a food-waste prevention week where outreach materials are placed in the dining hall to support food waste reduction behaviours among students eating in the dining hall.

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 U of S culinary centre is a buffet layout with a salad bar, fresh sandwich bar, pasta bar and a variety of hot dishes that change daily. Seeds, nuts and beans are available daily at the salad bar together with quality plant-based fats including olives, olive oils and local cold-pressed camelina oil. The pasta and sandwich bars also have a variety of vegan ingredients available. Vegetarian hot dishes that include legumes, soy or whole grains are available and change daily; often this dish is also vegan-friendly. Locally grown lentils are featured heavily within the menu.

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:

Plasma screens located in the food buffet area highlight the sustainability efforts of the dining centre. Information on local food purchases, sustainable options such as cage-free eggs, and water conservation efforts such as tray-less dining are featured on rotating slides. During local food month, labelling and signage indicate which dishes and ingredients are local.

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:

Culinary Services adopted new procedures such as batch cooking as well as controlling kitchen production to reduce food waste. Food waste is weighed daily and the results are tracked and reported to kitchen staff to reinforce and report on the success food waste prevention procedures.

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 were removed from the dining hall and buffet area.

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:

Culinary Services has recently signed-up with Food Renew, a local organization assisting is food redistribution. USask provides donations when possible. Due to our buffet service format, very limited amounts of food can be donated. Primarily, lunch-box style catered events will produce donated food.

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 generated at Marquis Dining Hall is run through the building's organic waste dehydrator. The separated solid and liquid components are passed along to the Grounds crew who use them in fertilizer treatments and add them to the campus compost windrows respectively.

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:

A food waste dehydrator was installed to process pre and post-consumer organic food waste from the Culinary Services kitchen. Dehydrated food waste is added into onsite composting piles along with landscape materials. Liquid extracted from the food waste is used as a fertilizer in flower beds during summer months.

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:

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:

All plates, bowls, glasses and cutlery are reusable.

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:

Platters for catering delivery and to-go containers for hot foods are compostable.

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:

Discounts for customers that bring their own mugs are available at all outlets operated by Culinary Services. This includes all Tim Horton's locations on campus, Starbucks, Subway, the Arts Cafeteria and the Agriculture Cafeteria.

Optional Fields

A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:

The International Street-Food week is organised and hosted in conjunction with the International Students and Study Abroad Centre (ISSAC) on campus and it features contributions from other local cultural groups such as the Saskatoon Chinese Cultural Club.

Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:

https://culinaryservices.usask.ca/about-us/our-commitment-to-sustainability.php

Additional documentation to support the submission:

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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

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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.