Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 47.42
Liaison John Stolz
Submission Date March 1, 2023

STARS v2.2

Duquesne University
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.80 / 2.00 Brianna Marks
Graduate Assistant
Center for Environmental Research and Education
"---" 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?:
No

A brief description of the farmers market, CSA or urban agriculture project:
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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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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:
Parkhurst aims to purchase approximately 20% of Duquesne's food and beverage expenditures from local sources.

Parkhurst contracts what they refer to as their "Forged Partners" which are food makers and farmers that are looking to venture into new geography. They are family-owned and operated, they share their values, and, most importantly, they share their high culinary standards and passion for food. Parkhurst works with these organizations in an effort to help businesses expand their distribution and bring their exciting and creative products to the guests across the region, in turn offering client partners a specialized retail product mix that stands apart from their competition.

In addition, Parkhurst maintains an innovative local purchasing program they call FarmSource™. FarmSource is an initiative to seek and build partnerships with some of the finest local growers, family-owned farms and producers of food in local communities. This program greatly reduces the distance food travels from harvest to table, and it strives to empower the company's suppliers to focus their purchasing efforts on procuring from local food producers.

Estimated percentage of total food and beverage expenditures on products from disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
16.40

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:
Duquesne University's Main Dining hall offers primarily local and fair trade dining options during Founders week.

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:
Within Hogan Dining Hall, the university hosts V2 - a station that serves all vegetarian and vegan meals. Duquesne Dining Services produces a "Vegetarian and Vegan Dining Guide" pamphlet for students, which lists vegetarian and vegan menu items available at each of the dining locations around campus. Additionally, on Duquesne's FoodU portal, students can set filters for vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, and/or other food allergies to identify which menu items Hogan Dining Hall will be offering that day that fit their dietary preferences. This information can also be found on the Hogan Dining Center weekly menus posted on Duquesne's website (see additional documentation for example).

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:
Information about locally sourced foods through the FarmSource Program and the composting opportunities are featured throughout the dining hall. Hogan Dining Center also has signage to indicate their gold-level designation as a Sustainable Pittsburgh Restaurant.

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?:
No

A brief description of the food recovery competition or commitment program or food waste prevention system:
---

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:
Duquesne University's dining hall does not offer trays and offers mindful portions with calorie counts so that students only collect their desired amount of food. Parkhurst's NetNutrition web app provides nutrition information, including calorie counts, for many of the meals they offer at Duquesne (https://netnutrition.cbord.com/nn-prod/7000#).

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:
Yes, leftover but still good food is donated to populations in need through Saint Vincent DePaul through Duquesne Campus Ministries.

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:
Duquesne University collaborates with Pro-Fry to collect all fryer oil on campus to be recycled.

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:
Yes, Duquesne University collects pre-consumer waste at the main dining hall and at the dining options in the Student Union Building.

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:
Yes, Duquesne University collects post-consumer waste at the main dining hall as students return their plates.

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:
All dine-in meals in the main dining hall and most catering events feature reusable service ware.

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:
The university is 100% styrofoam-free – no styrofoam used at campus dining at any site. All to-go containers are BPI-certified compostable, and reusable containers are used for all takeout meals in our main dining 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:
The two Duquesne University Starbucks locations offer reduced pricing when customers bring their own reusable mug.

Optional Fields

A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
Parkhurst works with the Living Well Allegheny, a local initiative to improve the health and wellness of those in Allegheny County (where Duquesne University is located.)

Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:
---

Additional documentation to support the submission:
Hogan_Dining_Center_Menu_Example.pdf

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Parkhurst's NetNutrition web app provides nutrition information for many of the meals they offer at Duquesne (https://netnutrition.cbord.com/nn-prod/7000#).

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.