Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 54.05
Liaison Tony Gillund
Submission Date March 23, 2023

STARS v2.2

Purdue University
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.55 / 2.00 Tony Gillund
Director of Sustainability
Campus Planning, Architecture and Sustainability
"---" 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 Purdue Farmers Market is organized by Purdue Campus Planning, Architecture and Sustainability in conjunction with Greater Lafayette Commerce. It hosts numerous vendors every Thursday from early June through late October at Memorial Mall on the West Lafayette campus.

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:
Purdue works with a variety of suppliers, including partnering with small local businesses such as our very own Purdue Student Farm, Glover's Ice Cream, Mary Lou Donuts, and Noble Coffee and Tea. Additionally, Purdue partners with multiple mid-sized partners within 500 miles such as Indiana Packers, Delco Foods, Piazza Produce, NK Hurst, Ken's Food, Holten Meat/Branding Iron, DFA, Creighton Brothers, and more. Purdue has also partnered with businesses such as Teatulia, a groundbreaking social and environmentally regenerative business, Home Free Cookies a women owned business making cookies that are allergen free, and Keen One out of Denver, bringing organic quinoa to the masses in a mindful way.

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:
The beauty of Purdue’s self-serve model is the customization available to our students at every meal. The ability to choose to create a dish that is meatless is available every day, at every dining court, at every station, including our salad bars. At Purdue’s Windsor Hall Dining Court, it is taken a step further with a location called Portobello Road, a dedicated vegetarian station and Grain Central Station, which specializes in bringing vibrant cold grain-based dishes. Additionally, the Purdue Wiley Dining Court hosts a Vegetarian station daily.

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:
Our Simple Servings stations are offered, daily at lunch and dinner. This concept provides a complete-protein vegan option for our campus community. Our Simple Servings stations are offered, daily at lunch and dinner. This concept provides a complete-protein vegan option for our campus community.

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?:
No

A brief description of the sustainability labelling and signage in dining halls:
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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:
Use the software and meal planning to minimize waste; also use batch cooking, trayless dining, and more.

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:
Purdue Residential Dining has had trayless dining in all dine-in locations

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:
Purdue Residential Dining donates usable and safe food to either the Purdue ACE Food Pantry or the Food Finders Foodbank in Lafayette Indiana.

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:
Food scraps from Residential Dining locations are collected in a dedicated waste stream and taken to the West Lafayette Water Resource Recovery Facility. Additionally, cooking oil is diverted from facilities to a 3rd party collector that utilizes the material to make fuel.

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:
All pre-consumer food scraps from dine-in Residential Dining preparation are collected in a dedicated waste stream and taken to the West Lafayette Water Resource Recovery Facility.

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:
All post-consumer scraps from dine-in Residential Dining preparation are collected in a dedicated waste stream and taken to the West Lafayette Water Resource Recovery Facility.

Dine-in service ware 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor utilize reusable service ware for “dine in” meals?:
No

A brief description of the reusable service ware program:
When staffing levels are full, the Residential Dining locations use reusable service-ware (metal silverware, ceramic dishes)

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:
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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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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.