| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 52.43 |
| Liaison | Wesley Enterline |
| Submission Date | Nov. 13, 2018 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
OP-8: Sustainable Dining
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.75 / 2.00 |
Rachael
Omdoll Dietician 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:
A'viands Naturally Program: Developed to promote education and sustainable practices within dining areas. This mission includes five commitments to decrease our carbon footprint. These five commitments include:
1) Waste: recycle as much as possible
2) Water: reduce water use; going trayless; fill dish racks completely and defrost food in the refrigerator
3) Energy: turn the lights off and do not turn on equipment until needed
4) Food Purchasing: purchase as much as we can from local sources; purchase in bulk to reduce containers and packaging material
5) Community: provide education on sustainable efforts; work with Sustainability Department on campus to help educate students on our sustainable practices
Additionally, Earth Day is promoted each year with special menu featuring as much locally grown products as we can. Every year, our support office sends new and innovative ideas out for the campus to utilize.
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:
Produce to create featured meals in the dining halls and fresh herbs are sometimes sourced from the Campus Garden each year.
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 campus has a partnership with a drop-off point with Wholesome Harvest CSA: https://www.wholesomeharvestcsa.com/
Dining Services is looking into hosting a farmer's market in Fall 2018. The Whitewater City Market was hosted for the first time during July 2018 in conjunction with the Summer Concert Series since the normal location in Downtown Whitewater was occupied by the Fourth of July Fair.
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:
Available options are more focused on vegetarian offerings at all meals. A Meatless Monday program is also not currently available. In particular, Drumlin Dining Hall always has vegetarian meals available at each meal period. The Good to Go program has many fruit and vegetable cups and salads that are vegetarian.
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:
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:
Dining Services promotes Earth Day and have sustainable-themed meals as a promotion.
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:
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:
Signage to highlight the impact of food waste is posted in the main residence halls to raise awareness of the environmental impact of throwing food in trash cans. Signage is also used to promote the eco-clamshell program in a variety of locations.
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 Services participates the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch (http://www.seafoodwatch.org/) and educates students on the impact of this program. The campus dietitian also hosts wellness booths to help educate students on the use of our clamshells, reusable mugs, and sustainable recipe samples.
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:
A'viands engages their corporate wellness team to work on the Good to Go program, which is focused on healthy grab and go options. The team also provides information for “Wellness Wednesday” with quick tips about health.
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:
Dining Services has a program called CBORD to forecast anticipated customer demand. This program also allows inventory tracking and produces a list of what food types and quantities for ordering based on projected need.
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:
Dining Services participates in trayless dining programs in our two “all you care to eat” dining facilities. This has impacts on reducing waste from washing the trays, as well as reducing food waste from customers not taking more than they can eat just because it can fit on a tray.
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:
UW-Whitewater Campus Garden donates all food produced to the Whitewater Food Pantry or Campus Food Pantry. Food donation drives on campus helps divert unwanted food items from the university population to the food pantries to serve people in need. At this time, there is not a food recovery program in place within dining facilities.
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:
Used cooking oil is picked up for recycling by Sanimax.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a pre-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program:
All pre-consumer food waste is sent through an industrial grinder and into the wastewater treatment system. The wastewater treatment plant for the City of Whitewater has an anaerobic digester system that creates digested sludge that can be applied to agricultural fields directly in a liquid form. Biogas produced by the digesters is flared (burned and released to the atmosphere) at a waste gas burner.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a post-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the post-consumer composting program:
Student projects have experimented with composting and vermicomposting systems and post-consumer waste has been considered for these purposes.
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:
Reusable service ware are used in both "all you care to eat" dining facilities and in the UC Commons, which is a buffet-style dining option in the University Center.
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:
Compostable (Earth Choice) containers are used for hot beverages and liquids across campus. Compostable containers are used for cold fountain beverage purchases in retail areas. However, there is no composting program in place on campus.
Drumlin Dining Hall and the UC Commons also offer reusable clam shell containers for purchase and offer discounts for students that use them.
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 Services provides a discount on brewed coffee and tea to customers making a purchase with a reusable mug. A discount is also offered for customers using the reusable clam shell 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)?:
A brief description of other dining services materials management initiatives:
Dining Services purchases large bulk items which helps decrease the amount of food packaging waste. They also situate our purchasing/warehouses as close to destination facilities as possible for decreased driving distance between storage unit and facility to decrease the amount of gas used.
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.