Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 67.45
Liaison Benjamin Newton
Submission Date March 3, 2023

STARS v2.2

Central Community College
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Sustainable dining initiatives

Local community engagement

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:
Supporting the preservation of the American family farm, reducing the carbon footprint of our supply chain, and giving back to local communities are central to Chartwells core values. In support of our company-wide commitment to sustainability and wellness, Chartwells has been making strides to establish relationships with local farmers and produce distributors to encourage local buying and promote seasonally available produce. We will work with each campus to define what local means to them.

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-themed food outlet:
Chartwells has a sustainability commitment: Treating the world as if we planned to stay. Chartwells believes serving healthy and nutritious food provides a foundation for lifelong learning. We are proud to feed future leaders and understand the immense responsibility we have to nourish our guests’ minds and bodies. We believe that wellness goes beyond our dining halls. To support a well-balanced healthy lifestyle, we create programs that help our guests live life to its fullest. From sourcing our ingredients to preparing our menus, we keep health and wellness at the forefront of everything we do.

Inclusive and local sourcing

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:
In support of our company-wide commitment to sustainability and wellness, Chartwells and CCC have been making efforts to establish relationships with local farmers and produce distributors to encourage local buying and promote seasonally available produce. In 2019, we began implementation of Local-Market Thursday, giving all vendors in and around Hastings a chance to premier their products in a safe and controlled environment with many open-minded students. We also feature local products on many of our campus events, such as Late Night At Central, and Open Mic Night, sponsored by both Chartwells and the Housing Division of the college.
All of our dining and market locations offer Fair-Trade-certified food – such as coffee and tea, pastas, energy bars, sugar, and bananas, among many others. In 2019, CCC and Chartwells worked together to form the all-campus Fair Trade Committee, which spreads the word about how important Fair-Trade use is, and works together to get more products integrated across all of the Central Community College dining centers.
We act to support campaigns that reward the efforts of farmers and laborers through our partnership with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW).

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

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:
Chartwells is driving change from the inside out with a landmark commitment to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030. As an all-campus initiative, we make an effort in partnering with CCC to use menu items that have common crossover ingredients (that allow us to produce less initial food waste), accurately communicating the number of dining students and staff for each meal as to avoid over-production of many food items, and promoting two combined composting programs for food that winds up unuseable. Together, we’re reducing waste at the source, raising awareness, and promoting solutions that positively impact the areas where we operate. Read more and take the Chartwells pledge at stopfoodwasteday.com

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the vegan dining program:
Vegan station buffet style dining in Hastings, Grand Island, and Columbus with a salad bar.

Labelling and signage 

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:
An entire wall listing sustainable choices in all three cafeterias and promoting sustainable foods.

Part 2. Food waste minimization and recovery

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the food recovery competition or commitment program or food waste prevention system:
Track all food waste for each campus. Also, Hastings and Grand Island campus started compost pilot in 2019.
Chartwells is driving change from the inside out with a landmark commitment to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030. As an all-campus initiative, we make an effort in partnering with CCC to use menu items that have common crossover ingredients (that allow us to produce less initial food waste), accurately communicating the number of dining students and staff for each meal as as to avoid over-production of many food items, and promoting two combined composting programs for food that winds up unuseable. Together, we’re reducing waste at the source, raising awareness, and promoting solutions that positively impact the areas where we operate. Read more and take the Chartwells pledge at stopfoodwasteday.com

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:
Trays are not available at the Grand Island cafeteria

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:
Nearly 40% of all college students are struggling with food security. Food insecurity impacts students in all college and university settings, even those who have a meal plan can be food insecure. To counter this issue, Chartwells provides program support to address food insecurity in a variety of ways, including student food pantries, meal donations and partnerships with the Food Recovery Network or Feeding America.

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the food materials diversion program:
We manage our waste streams in each of our dining facilities and offices to reduce waste to landfill as much as possible. Our teams recycle according to all locally available programs. Our food waste reduction strategies incorporate source reduction, food recovery and composting. Our Waste Not toolkit provides our teams with the necessary resources to track all waste in our facilities so we can implement strategies to reduce waste.

Composting 

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:
A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program: Food waste that is generated from food preparation is collected by the cafeteria staff and is composted on site at each location by the sustainability department.

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:
A brief description of the post-consumer composting program: Hastings HMRM culinary department and cafeteria utilizes two outdoor compost bins, and we also collect food waste from faculty break rooms. Post consumer food waste is also collected and composted at each site

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:
Yes. On the Hastings campus campus, Chatwells provides reusable service ware. In the dinning hall, food is served on plates that can be washed and reued. Silverware is used and washed after all meals served. Chartwells offers three meals a day in the dinning hall.

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)?:
Yes

A brief description of the compostable containers and service ware:
Chartwells snack bar uses compostable bowls and plates for their to go orders. Students are able to use a reusable container for a to go option if they are eating food from the dinning hall.

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:
Through Chartwells, if you bring a reusable coffee mug the cost is fifty cents.

Optional Fields

A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
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Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:
http://chartwellshighered.com/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.