Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 53.46
Liaison Winnie Mulamba
Submission Date March 13, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of South Florida St. Petersburg
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.50 / 2.00 Brian Pullen
Sustainability Planner
Facilities Services
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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

A brief description of the sustainable dining policy:

All of our produce distributors in North America are required to source local products and many carry more than 1/3 of their produce form local farms. Your Sodexo team is committed to sourcing 100% of our contracted seafood from sustainable sources by 2015. We are working with our suppliers and distribution partners to phase out seafood that is not certified by either the Marine Stewardship Council or the Global Aquaculture Alliance's Best Aquaculture Practices Program. We are pleased that we were able to increase how much we spend on sustainable seafood significantly in both the United States and Canada.

Source: http://tomorrowstarts2day.com/planet.html


Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor source food from a campus garden or farm?:
No

A brief description of the program to source food from a campus garden or farm:
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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?:
No

A brief description of the farmers market, CSA or urban agriculture project:
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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:

Every day there is at least one vegan and one vegetarian item on the menu for EVERY MEAL of the day. There are signs placed in front of the food that state if they are vegan, or vegetarian.


Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host low impact dining events (e.g. Meatless Mondays)?:
Yes

A brief description of the low impact dining events:

Yes we have Meatless Monday's on a weekly basis for lunch and dinner.


Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host sustainability-themed meals (e.g. local harvest dinners)?:
No

A brief description of the sustainability-themed meals:
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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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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:

Product labels (i.e. eco-friendly), as well as menu items highlight sustainable and nutrition facts for each item.


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:

Sodexo tries to promote purchasing locally sourced produce whenever possible, as well as highlighting the purchase of sustainable-sourced seafood. Furthermore, they use only biodegradable to-go containers, lids, utensils, etc. as well as encourage the reuse of their durable heavy-duty to-go containers.


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:

Our dining services promotes health and wellness initiatives which can be found online here: https://usfsp.sodexomyway.com/health/index.html


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:

Sodexo donates unused portions of food, three times a week, to a student group participating in the Food Recovery Program. The food is donated to a local shelter.


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?:
No

A brief description of the trayless dining or modified menu/portion program:
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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:

Sodexo donates unused portions of food, three times a week, to a student group participating in the Food Recovery Program. The food is donated to a local shelter.


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)?:
No

A brief description of the food materials diversion program:
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Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a pre-consumer composting program?:
No

A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program:
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Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a post-consumer composting program?:
No

A brief description of the post-consumer composting program:
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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:

They utilize reusable plates, utensils, and heavy duty to-go containers, as well as bio-degrabale to-go products.


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 to-go material (except the reusable heavy duty to-go containers) including napkins are certified biodegradable products made and purchased from Eco Products (http://www.ecoproductsstore.com/)


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:

Refills for reusable cups are offered at a discounted rate. The same can be said for reusable to-go containers versus paying for a bio-degrable to-go container.


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:

Sodexo has been actively working with USFSP towards improving our campus recycling program and waste reduction, as well as discussed the implementation for a mulch company to collect our food waste from the kitchens and service areas.


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:
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