Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
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Overall Score | 58.64 |
Liaison | Casey Meehan |
Submission Date | Dec. 22, 2020 |
Western Technical College
OP-8: Sustainable Dining
Status | Score | Responsible Party |
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2.00 / 2.00 |
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indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Part 1. Sustainable dining initiatives
Local community engagement
Yes
A brief description of the farmers market, CSA or urban agriculture project:
CSA box availability to staff through our Wellness program; Horticulture students grow produce in on-campus greenhouses and sell exclusively to Western’s campus kitchen.
Sustainability-themed outlet
No
A brief description of the sustainability-themed food outlet:
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Inclusive and local sourcing
Yes
A brief description of the support for disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
We purchase microgreens and other produce from our own greenhouse. Western supports a social enterprise through the coffee we purchase from a local, organic, and fair trade company called Just Coffee in Madison, WI.
Estimated percentage of total food and beverage expenditures on products from disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
4.10
Low-impact dining
Yes
A brief description of the low impact dining events and/or plant-forward options:
Western promotes a vegetarian menu on the Union Market website, as well as physically in the Union Market, marking menu items that are plant-based.
Vegan dining program
Yes
A brief description of the vegan dining program:
Western Technical College offers several vegan and vegetarian options. Vegan offerings in all restaurant concepts in the Union Market; Vegan offerings on the Lunda Center menu. Western offers a complete salad bar. The salad bar encompasses a wide variety of options, being a self-serving salad bar customers can pick and choose if they would like a vegetarian salad or vegan. Another vegetarian option offered in the Western dining hall is a sandwich station. The sandwich offers a specifically vegetarian option for sandwiches. Additionally Western offers consumers vegan and vegetarian options at the "Mongolian Grill". This station gives consumers the opportunity to pick and choose what all goes into their meal and have it grilled in front of them. It is up to consumers if they would like their meal to be vegan, vegetarian, or include meat. This food station also provides gluten free options. For a gluten free meal, the grills are scrubbed down and cleaned to ensure the meal does not include any gluten by mistake.
Labelling and signage
Yes
A brief description of the sustainability labelling and signage in dining halls:
Western has signage at individual stations in the Union Market; rotating vegan menu in Grab and Go case; and reusable clamshell containers available to public.
Part 2. Food waste minimization and recovery
Food recovery program
Yes
A brief description of the food recovery competition or commitment program or food waste prevention system:
Western’s dining services utilize a prep sheet daily in determining what is considered waste and what can be composted. All pre-consumer waste such as peels are weighed. We compost through our Food Waste Ecovim Dehydrator and participate in vermicompost waste tracking. All items - salad bar/mongo bar/burrito line - get weighed on Friday and then donated to the Salvation Army.
Trayless dining and portion modifications
Yes
A brief description of the trayless dining or modified menu/portion program:
We use Ecoproduct compostable cups and containers as a disposable option. We have specification books on all stations to ensure over-portioning does not occur, as well as recipe adherence is being followed.
Food donation
Yes
A brief description of the food donation program:
We do weekly donations of extra prepared food to the Salvation Army shelter. The amount of food donated each week is weighed and tracked.
Food materials diversion
Yes
A brief description of the food materials diversion program:
Pre-consumer food waste is dehydrated and used to make a compost and donated to a local chicken farmer who uses it to feed animals on the farm.
Composting
Yes
A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program:
Pre-consumer food waste is donated to a local chicken farmer who uses it to feed animals on the farm.
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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Dine-in service ware
Yes
A brief description of the reusable service ware program:
Western provides reusable service ware for dine in meals (ceramic plates, bowls, mugs, cups, and metal silverware).
Take-away materials
Yes
A brief description of the compostable containers and service ware:
Western uses reusable eco-clamshells in the student union market. Eco-clamshell containers are made of environmentally-friendly polypropylene and are returned by users to be washed in our dishroom. Reusable beverage containers are sold and Western offers a discount on future purchases.
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:
If a student or Western staff member uses a reusable mug, they will receive a discount on future purchases. We also offer discount program on healthy food options for County and Western staff utilizing specially marked reusable clamshell containers.
Optional Fields
Western’s wellness department incentivizes healthy eating by offering discounts on meals to employees who choose healthy options (pre-selected by our campus dietician).
Our dietician and wellness center run healthy eating and cooking classes for Western students and employees.
Our dietician and wellness center run healthy eating and cooking classes for Western students and employees.
Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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