| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 53.24 |
| Liaison | Alicia Gowan |
| Submission Date | June 18, 2024 |
Kwantlen Polytechnic University
OP-8: Sustainable Dining
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.62 / 2.00 |
Alicia
Gowan Sustainability Specialist Campus and Community Planning |
Part 1. Sustainable dining initiatives
Local community engagement
A brief description of the farmers market, CSA or urban agriculture project:
KPU's Farm Schools host a Community Supported Agriculture program through a vegetable box from produce grown through the regenerative and organic farming practices at the university farms. This program supports local farmers through a subscription program where members of the CSA pay an upfront cost so farmers can invest in farming supplies and equipment to carry out their farming season. Members of the CSA, or consumers, get vegetable boxes weekly. The CSA program has been active for several years, but was put on hold for the 2023 season due to a temporary halt for program development. KPU's Farm Schools also attend a local Farmers Market weekly in Richmond, where the Richmond campus and KPU Farm are located. This opportunity provides students with real-world experience running a farm business and contributing to their local community.
Sustainability-themed outlet
A brief description of the sustainability-themed food outlet:
Grassroots Cafe is one of the main dining services at the Surrey Campus, which is owned and operated by students. Grassroots is "run for students, by students, and strives to provide healthy, local, organic, fair trade, and environmentally friendly products which are purchased ethically". Grassroots works to achieve sustainability through the following efforts:
- In spring of 2023, Grassroots introduced several high protein vegetarian and vegan menu items such as Tofu Sliders, Flatbread pizzas, Coconut Chia Pudding, Yogurt Parfaits, Penne pasta, Chickpea salad sandwich, Protein berry Smoothie etc. Their goal is to have a 30% non-vegetarian menu and 70% vegetarian menu.
- Grassroots tries to support the local community by ordering from local suppliers as much as possible. Coffee is sourced organically from a supplier based in an adjacent city to Surrey, called Richmond. Grassroots has multiple suppliers based within the city of Surrey where they order supplies from at least once per month.
- Waste reduction is valued in their operations. For example, as they are only open from Monday to Friday, they order just enough produce on Monday to last until Friday so that food remains fresh and waste is minimized. Additionally, there are two organic bins in the kitchen and one large organic bin in the lounge/dining area. The majority of Grassroots in-house recipes are designed with waste-reduction in mind.
- Offering "whole foods" is a key part of the Grassroots menu. Whole foods are non-processed foods which are typically higher in nutrients and fiber and lower in fats, sugars, and salt.
- Grassroots provides non-dairy milk opens as an alternative to cow's milk for coffee/tea beverages. Grassroots Cafe also has a variety of policies to promote sustainability:
- Cashiers must ask "Is it for here or to go?'. Their default is to serve dine-in food in reusable China plates and cups.
- Grassroots offers a $0.25 discount for personal take-away reusable cups/mugs. If one does not have their own reusable mug, there are plenty reusable mugs in-house. Students who choose to have their drink in a reusable mug for dine-in will also receive a $0.25 discount.
- Grassroots welcomes guests to bring their own homemade lunches to the space. They have a microwave in the lounge area and also provide stainless steel cutlery.
- No staff member is allowed to eat out of takeout containers during breaks. They must use reusable plates and cups.
- On weekends, staff move all the food to one fridge and unplug all the other fridges to save power for a couple of days.
- Reusable materials are used for cleaning, e.g. reusable cloths. etc.
- Grassroots offers China service for catering at no additional cost.
- https://www.kpu.ca/grass-roots
Inclusive and local sourcing
A brief description of the support for disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
In 2022, KPU began partnering with Feed BC, an educational and promotional program led by the provincial government to "grow awareness and the local food culture in public institutions. Partners actively promote British Columbian/local food within their institutions and beyond to inspire and grow new opportunities and awareness." KPU's goal is to have 30% of all food in campus cafeterias sourced from local suppliers, including KPU farms, to influence a more robust local food system in British Columbia. In addition to this program, KPU always encourages Chartwells - KPU's food service supplier - to work with KPU farms and their programs
News Release: https://www.kpu.ca/news/2022/03/16/kpu-joins-feed-bc-support-locally-grown-produce Program Website: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/agriculture-seafood/growbc-feedbc-buybc/feed-bc-and-the-bc-food-hub-network/feed-bc-program/feed-bc-partner-guide-for-public-institutions
Estimated percentage of total food and beverage expenditures on products from disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
Low-impact dining
A brief description of the low impact dining events and/or plant-forward options:
Grassroots Cafe has a goal to have 70% of their menu items as vegetarian/vegan options and 30% as non-vegetarian options.
Vegan dining program
A brief description of the vegan dining program:
Labelling and signage
A brief description of the sustainability labelling and signage in dining halls:
Whenever possible, Ancillary Services ensures food service locations highlight local food producers on their menus.
Part 2. Food waste minimization and recovery
Food recovery program
A brief description of the food recovery competition or commitment program or food waste prevention system:
Trayless dining and portion modifications
A brief description of the trayless dining or modified menu/portion program:
All food services run by Ancillary Services are single serve, meaning they don't have a "dining commons" or buffet style of service that would accommodate the use of trays. All meals are provided in single service packaging utilizing recycled/compostable materials. Plastic utensils are slowly being phased out.
Food donation
A brief description of the food donation program:
Food materials diversion
A brief description of the food materials diversion program:
KPU had an organic food waste dehydrator in use in the Richmond cafeteria until it’s recent closure (Spring 2023). The resulting mulch was utilized by the Richmond Farm program.
Composting
A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program:
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a post-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the post-consumer composting program:
Compost bins are available at all food service locations on all KPU campuses. KPU's Facilities team manages the contract with the waste hauler, Maple Leaf Disposal, where compost is taken to the appropriate composting facilities.
Dine-in service ware
A brief description of the reusable service ware program:
As noted above, Grassroots Cafe has a variety of policies to promote sustainability:
- Cashiers must ask "Is it for here or to go?'. Their default is to serve dine-in food in reusable China plates and cups.
- Grassroots offers a $0.25 discount for personal take-away reusable cups/mugs. If one does not have their own reusable mug, there are plenty reusable mugs in-house. Students who choose to have their drink in a reusable mug for dine-in will also receive a $0.25 discount.
- Grassroots welcomes guests to bring their own homemade lunches to the space. They have a microwave in the lounge area and also provide stainless steel cutlery.
- No staff member is allowed to eat out of takeout containers during breaks. They must use reusable plates and cups.
- They offer China service for catering at no additional cost.
Take-away materials
A brief description of the compostable containers and service ware:
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?:
A brief description of the reusable container discount or incentives program:
Grassroots Cafe provides a 25-cent discount if students, employees, and members of the public bring their own mug for hot and cold beverages. This does not apply at all campus dining services.
Optional Fields
Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs 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.