Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 70.87
Liaison Daimon Eklund
Submission Date Dec. 23, 2021

STARS v2.2

University of Washington, Seattle
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Amy Leyzerovsky
Purchasing Specialist
HFS Dining
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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:

Yes, the UW Farm hosts a CSA for faculty/staff and students June through September. In addition, EcoReps, a student club on campus hosts a quarterly farmers market called the "Green Husky Market" to promote student engagement with farmers markets.


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?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-themed food outlet:

Cultivate, our on-campus gastropub, was created to showcase local and sustainable cuisine, featuring sustainable seafood and produce from our on-campus, certified organic, sustainable farm.
https://hfs.uw.edu/Eat/Dining-Locations/Cultivate

UW also owns District Market that features local and sustainable products, and the dining option Tero showcases deliciously unique bowls that combine whole grains with fresh veggies and lean proteins.


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:

UW Dining does business with a variety of SME's including Alki Bakery, a local bakery that has approximately 180 employees. UW Dining also chooses to purchase green fair trade coffee from Atlas coffee, to demonstrate support for these practices through deliberate spend.


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

HFS hosts events as does UW Medical Centers. This includes the annual UW Farm to Table dinner featuring UW Dining chefs and UW Farm sustainably grown, organic produce.


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:

We offer some of the best plant based proteins in the country that are from local sources; Gardein Protein, Field Roast, and Island Spring Organic Tofu. Our approach to vegan is to measure complete vegan proteins while also providing additional sources to combine and make complete essential amino acid proteins such as legumes, nuts, vegetables, grains and cereals. We have specific menu symbols we utilize for the customer to identify vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free. Special meals including holiday themed meals always include alternative, vegan offerings as well.


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:

HFS has labeling and signage which informs students of its sustainable food options. UW Dining is also a member of the MCURC and utilizes marketing from that organization in collaboration with our in-house Communications and Marketing team to generate educational materials to inform customers of low impact food choices.


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:

Nearly all production food service operations on campus donate leftover but reusable food entrees and the accompaniments to the on-campus food pantry, as well as Food Lifeline to support homeless shelters in close proximity to the University of Washington. Excess overhead and inventory is also diverted to these outlets.


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 are no longer available in our dining halls in an effort to reduce post-consumer waste.


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:

Our food and beverage vendors donate product to needy families through the UW Campus Husky food pantry, Food Lifeline and Northwest Harvest and Ronald McDonald House. The UW Dining staff donate their time to support programs that feed and support needy families in our region. Nearly all of our production food service operations donate leftover but reusable food entrees and the accompaniments to the Husky Food Pantry and Food Lifeline to support homeless shelters in close proximity to the University of Washington.


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:

For excess food materials that are consumable, early all of our production food service operations donate leftover but reusable food entrees and the accompaniments to the Husky Food Pantry and Food Lifeline to support homeless shelters in close proximity to the University of Washington. For those materials that are not consumable, food waste is composted through our local Cedar Grove facility and coffee grounds are recovered via an in-house program facilitated by UW Recycling.


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:

We compost all pre-consumer food and beverage waste in all of our food service operations. Since the beginning of 2004 we have incorporated food waste composting into all of our back of the house operations. All food and beverage waste is collected and put out on all of our loading docks for pickup by our commercial composting facility, Cedar Grove which is located just 35 miles away from the University.

UW Seattle campus’s food waste tonnage is partially calculated with volume to weight estimates. In 2015, we performed an audit and found that, due to the increase in paper towel composting and compostable packaging, food waste is much lighter per cubic yard now than when the previous estimate was created 10 years ago.


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:

We offer 100% compostable disposables products for our produced food which allows the customer to discard all of food and beverage waste into compost collection containers. We have a triple bin system for recycling, compost and solid waste in all of our food service locations, both retail and residence halls, as well as our outdoor mobile dining units. Our campus catering department offers compostable products for all of their events. We strive for a zero waste residential and dining environment.

We also capture cooking oil for recycling from eight food service locations on campus.
In July of 2012, the dining program at the University of Washington received the gold award from the National Association of College and University Food Services sustainability awards competition for our waste management program.

In addition to the campus cafes, residence halls and dining facilities, other post-consumer food waste composting infrastructure can be found on campus. This includes 35 outdoor containers that capture recycling, compost and landfill materials. These outdoor containers are located in high-traffic, high-food waste consumption areas such as Red Square, the HUB and the Quad. UW Recycling has also invested a lot of resources into expanding the composting program throughout all academic buildings on campus with over 650 compost bins found in 135 buildings on campus.

UW Seattle campus’s food waste tonnage is partially calculated with volume to weight estimates. In 2015, we performed an audit and found that, due to the increase in paper towel composting and compostable packaging, food waste is much lighter per cubic yard now than when the previous estimate was created 10 years ago. For additional details, view our 2016 Annual Report: http://www.washington.edu/facilities/building/recyclingandsolidwaste/sites/default/files/signs/UWRecycling2016AnnualReport.pdf

In 2019, UW Recycling calculated a total diversion rate of 61% across campus, saving more than $1.5 million by recycling, composting, and reusing. This equates to a net reduction of 11,037 tons of greenhouse gas emissions. Food waste accounted for approximately 13.9% of the overall waste stream in FY2019 for a total of 1,718 tons.


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:

We provide 100% compostable service ware in all of our food service operations. In operations connected with residence halls, we use reusables for dining in and compostables for take out.


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:

We use ceramics and melamine in our residence hall food service operations that are returned, washed, and reused. We have a very robust reusable mug program in our cafes and beverage platforms and offer discounts for customers who bring their own reusable mugs.


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:

25 cent discount when using a reusable container. Buy a UW stainless steel mug and get 10 refills for free. We also utilize the OZZI reusable container program in one of our residential dining facilities and upon completion of this pilot program hope to expand to our second residential dining facility.


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

HFS opened Tero dining venue which is based on the plant-forward Menus of Change principles. UW Dining Executive Chef Tracey and her team created deliciously unique bowls that combine whole grains (couscous, quinoa, amaranth) and fresh veggies with a lean protein. The menu is customizable and comes with a choice of mouth-watering sauces. The venue also focuses on health and wellness. This concept's recipes are now being utilized across campus in multiple dining facilities.
https://www.washington.edu/wholeu/2018/03/23/staff-story-tero/


Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

All of our eggs on campus are organic and cage free, humane and salmon safe certified and come from a local farm just south of the University near Roy, Washington, at the foot of Mt. Rainier. We incorporate soy based proteins and utilize a combination of legumes, grains and nuts to provide all of the essential amino acids for a complete protein and healthy diet. The majority of our dairy products come from Medosweet, which sources from local family owned dairies that are antibiotic and steroid free. The milk is very fresh using a three day process from the time the cows are milked till we receive the product and put it in our cooler and recipes for our customers to enjoy. We have strong relationships with local bakeries that use sustainable and organic ingredients and partnerships with local meat and seafood companies that use humane practices. Our spend on organic purchases has increased over this past year and we continue to focus on sustainability in our dining locations. Plant-forward options including core proteins and plants at the center of the plate have and continue to expand in all venues on campus. We feature cutting edge analogs and animal alternatives for all meal periods and cuisines.


All of our eggs on campus are organic and cage free, humane and salmon safe certified and come from a local farm just south of the University near Roy, Washington, at the foot of Mt. Rainier. We incorporate soy based proteins and utilize a combination of legumes, grains and nuts to provide all of the essential amino acids for a complete protein and healthy diet. The majority of our dairy products come from Medosweet, which sources from local family owned dairies that are antibiotic and steroid free. The milk is very fresh using a three day process from the time the cows are milked till we receive the product and put it in our cooler and recipes for our customers to enjoy. We have strong relationships with local bakeries that use sustainable and organic ingredients and partnerships with local meat and seafood companies that use humane practices. Our spend on organic purchases has increased over this past year and we continue to focus on sustainability in our dining locations. Plant-forward options including core proteins and plants at the center of the plate have and continue to expand in all venues on campus. We feature cutting edge analogs and animal alternatives for all meal periods and cuisines.

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.