Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 73.37
Liaison Olivia Herron
Submission Date Feb. 28, 2022

STARS v2.2

Miami University
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.75 / 2.00 Laurie Sampson
Director of Food and Beverage purchasing
Campus Services
"---" 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:
The campus partners with and supports the CSA “crop box” program through the Institute for Food. Each week, during the summer and fall months, subscribers take home a box or bag packed full of fresh, seasonal vegetables grown on the Institute for Food farm. Boxes are filled each week with sustainably grown staple crops such as lettuce, onions, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and broccoli. Self-selection options will focus on seasonally available specialty crops such as bok choy, Chinese cabbage, kohlrabi, hot peppers, and eggplant. This program in summer of 2021 had over 120 members and about 10% were students.

https://www.miamioh.edu/cas/academics/centers/iff/our-farm/index.html

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:
MacCracken Market (Market Street at MaCracken) traditionally offers the most local baked goods, chocolates, sustainably raised meats and a wide variety of small local vendors/producers out of the dining halls. MacCracken Market continues to be a showplace for local/sustainable foods. The majority of these items are also available across campus in various c-stores.

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:
Miami supports local and medium sized enterprises including many small local businesses Chick Pea Chicks, Chubby Bunny Bakery, Madisono's Gelato, Jeni's Ice Cream, Reserve Run Farm and many others.

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:
Miami University hosts a Healthy Miami Special Meal every semester that highlights healthy, vegetarian, and vegan dishes across campus.

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 options are accessible to everyone and are available in all operations for all meal periods. We label all vegan options, as well as vegetarian options. Also, Miami University offers a database for students, faculty, and staff to search for food options, as well as nutritional facts. This database has a section to filter items individuals may be allergic to, as well as vegan/vegetarian options.
Here is a link to that site.
https://miaminutrition.miamioh.edu/NetNutrition/MU

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:
Miami University markets and showcases our Fair Trade items, as well as our locally raised produce throughout the dining halls as much as we can.

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:
Food & Beverage has modeled our own waste reduction program after the Lean path program. This reduction program requires dining services to measure and track waste daily in all operations. This has helped decrease the amount of food waste from dining halls.

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:
Miami Dining is 100% trayless. A student-led portion modification program is in place in dining halls.

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:
Miami Dining has a long-standing relationship with new Life Mission out of Hamilton OH. Excess products are donated when there is no other potential use for them.
In Spring 2021 the Miami student-run chapter of the Food Recovery Network was created which helps recover food for donation.

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 do sell our cooking oil to a company called DarPro where it is used in animal feed.

Composting 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a pre-consumer composting program?:
No

A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program:
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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:
Post-consumer compost containers are conveniently located across campus.

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:
In a normal , non-pandemic year, there is no disposable service ware [cups, plates, lids, etc] utilized in any of our dining commons on campus.
Straws were eliminated from dining halls in 2021.
During FY 2020 and early COVID, there were no dine in meals and the State of Ohio Health Department required use of disposable service ware for take out meals.

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)?:
No

A brief description of the compostable containers and service ware:
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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?:
No

A brief description of the reusable container discount or incentives program:
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Optional Fields

A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
Healthy Miami Dinners and including salad bars in all commons are other ways we have increased our efforts to provide Miami students with more healthy options.

Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:
http://miamioh.edu/campus-services/dining/index.html

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.