Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 49.23
Liaison Maria Dahmus
Submission Date June 21, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of St. Thomas
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.13 / 2.00 Angela Hasouris
Assistant Director, Residential Dining
Dining Services
"---" 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?:
No

A brief description of the sustainable dining policy:
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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:
Dining Services buys produce from the Stewardship Garden at St. Thomas when it is available. The produce is used in the residential dining hall and in catering events.

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:
St. Thomas hosts a farmers market in the summer. Students grow and sell produce as part of the St. Thomas Stewardship Science Project, an initiative that combines agricultural research, educational opportunities and community service. All produce sold at the farmers market is chemical free and grown in the Stewardship Garden on south campus, as well as two community sites. BrightSide Produce is an economically sustainable business model that makes fresh produce more available in low-income urban neighborhoods. It was founded in June 2014 as a collaboration between the University of St. Thomas and Community Table Co-op to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to corner stores in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The core operation involves a team of neighborhood youth and university students who make regular deliveries to corner stores in under-served areas. In Minneapolis, produce is first delivered to corner stores. Then, produce that is left over from corner store sales is sold to University students, faculty, staff, and supporters through a “Buyers Club” program. Proceeds from these sales go to BrightSide’s youth employees.

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?:
No

A brief description of the vegan dining program:
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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)?:
No

A brief description of the sustainability-themed meals:
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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?:
No

A brief description of the sustainability labeling and signage in dining halls:
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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:
The university engages in outreach efforts to support learning and research about sustainable food systems through a variety of activities. Stewardship Garden: • Since 2014, students have conducted research on urban agriculture at two community centers in underserved St Paul neighborhoods. As part of this work, students regularly lead information sessions and have produce stands for the community. • Annual tabling at NeighborFest in late July or August, with produce sales (in 2017 we had two full tables) • The summer-long Friday farmers’ market, promoted to the neighborhood through e-blasts • Tours of the Stewardship Garden each September in conjunction with Neighbor Appreciation Day • Through the Selim Center for Lifelong Learning, a tour of the Stewardship Garden has been part of the past two Exercise for the Body and the Mind events in their tours of south campus. • The Stewardship Garden and the pollinator path were part of the Summit Avenue Residential Preservation Association (SARPA) garden tour fundraiser in June 2017. • Stewardship Garden faculty founders have presented to the Minneapolis Food Council, Ramsey County Master Gardeners, District 10 Environmental Council, and local high schools (i.e., Breck and Cristo Rey Jesuit High School). BrightSide Produce: • Since 2016, students lead weekly sidewalk farm stands at 5 partner corner stores in high poverty urban areas. Much of that work involves building relationships with community members around food. • Every week since 2014, BrightSide Produce has delivered fruits and vegetables to 10-25 corner stores in high poverty urban areas. Students regularly work with residents and store owners to create an equitable food system. BrightSide has become the nation's only financially sustainable operation for delivery produce to small stores in underserved urban neighborhoods. Daily sales have tripled since Brightside first started.

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:
St. Thomas offers culturally diverse options in the primary residence hall, catering and retail outlets.

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?:
No

A brief description of the food recovery competition or commitment program or food waste prevention system:
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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:
In 2013 Dining Services removed trays from both of its cafeteria style dining halls. By removing trays the university is able to save thousands of pounds of food waste per year.

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:
St. Thomas donates food through the Food Recovery Network to the Dorothy Day Center feeding the homeless. In the spring semester of 2018, students working with the Food Recovery Network donated 2,985.93 lbs of food from the university.

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:
The university has a food-to-hogs program where food scraps are collected and donated to feed hogs. The university also has a program to send oil to get converted to fuel.

Composting 

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the post-consumer composting program:
The University of St. Thomas started a composting pilot program at the Binz Refectory dining hall in the fall of 2017. Approximately 1,600 pounds per week are composted from this location.

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:
Both residential dining halls on campus use reusable service ware for dine in meals. Some of the university's retail dining locations and many of its catering events also use service ware for 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:
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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?:
No

A brief description of the reusable container discount or incentives program:
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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)?:
No

A brief description of other dining services materials management initiatives:
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Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
https://www.stthomas.edu/dining/sustainability/

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.