Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 49.22
Liaison Paul Scanlon
Submission Date March 4, 2022

STARS v2.2

Slippery Rock University
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Paul Scanlon
Special Assistant to the President
President's Office/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 Macoskey Center for Sustainable Systems Education and Research operates an organic farmers market on 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?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-themed food outlet:
Located in Bailey Library, T&B Naturally is SRU's sustainable coffee shop on campus. Greenware products, and all natural/organic products are offered as well as re-usable mugs.

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:
The dining contractor purchases local foods from small farmers in the area, and purchases eggs and in-season vegetables from SRU's Macoskey Center's on-campus gardens.

Estimated percentage of total food and beverage expenditures on products from disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
5

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:
We do offer a plant based beet burger in our retail setting - The Beyond Burger. We are planning to introduce a plant based sausage as well in the near future.

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:
AVI Fresh offers vegetarian options on a regular basis (at all meals) in all dining locations, as well as many options for students who prefer to eat vegan. Grill specials are rotated on a weekly basis to offer meatless options.

Boozel Dining Hall has multiple options to expand on Vegan/Vegetarian Offerings, including an MTO pasta dish with vegan/vegetarian items available daily at the Clarity Station and a new Alternative Protein Bar that has also expanded options to include a selection of healthy legumes, grains and proteins on a daily basis during the lunch and dinner periods. New to the Spring 2019 semester is a dedicated Roots platform with solely vegan and vegetarian options.

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:
AVI uses permanent signage in Boozel Dining Hall describing its sustainability practices, as well as providing a dietician who regularly staffs a table to discuss nutrition and low impact food choices with interested students.

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:
The culinary technique of "batch cooking", where frequent smaller quantities of food are prepared throughout the meal service, is employed to reduce food waste. Boozel Dining Hall also uses "tray-less dining" to reduce food waste, and composts its pre-consumer food waste through an arrangement with the Macoskey Center.

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:
Slippery Rock's Dining services, as a part of AVI fresh, completely removed trays from dining halls in May 2012. This has been found to be effective in reducing food waste by 25%, in addition to reducing dishwashing detergent and tray washing energy use.

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:
Our food service vendor, AVI, works directly with Slippery Rock "Feed my Sheep" in donating fruit, drinks and food to feed children in the local area. We do not donate any leftovers due to HACCP policies and procedures. However, AVI attempts to use leftover food when possible to make other dishes and soups.

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:
Used cooking oil from Boozel Dining Hall, Rocky's, Quaker Steak & Lube and Weisenfluh is provided to a local biofuel producer.

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:
Pre-consumer food waste is collected from the dining halls by student workers for composting at the Macoskey Center.

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

A brief description of the post-consumer composting program:
na

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:
Boozel Dining Hall, Weisenfluh and Starbucks all provide reusable serviceware.

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:
Located in Bailey Library, T&B Naturally is SRU's sustainable coffee shop on campus. Greenware products, and all natural/organic products are offered as well as re-usable mugs.

Weisenfluh Dining Hall offers all compostable greenware products for to-go items.

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:
T&B and Starbucks locations on campus offer a reusable mug for purchase. Upon purchase, coffee can be purchased at $1.00 for each return to the location.

Optional Fields

A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
Sustainability-related and culturally-diverse dining initiatives are developed and promoted by both the President's Commission on Wellness and the President's Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity.

Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:
http://www.avinutrisource.com/nutrifacts.php

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.