Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 46.44
Liaison Rachel Kornhauser
Submission Date March 2, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

State University of New York at Oneonta
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Rachel Kornhauser
Sustainability Coordinator
Finance and Administration
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1: Sustainable Dining Initiatives 

Sustainable Dining Policy

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a published sustainable dining policy?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainable dining policy:
"Sodexo's mission...is to Improve the Quality of Life of all those we serve, and importantly, to contribute to the economic, social and environmental development of the cities, regions and countries where we operate....We publicly report our progress towards measurable commitments for energy, water and waste reduction, local and sustainable sourcing, and healthy meals, for example. These commitments serve as a roadmap for our organization to address the sustainability issues identified as being material to our business and our stakeholders."

On-Campus Sourcing 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor source food from a campus garden or farm?:
No

A brief description of the program to source food from a campus garden or farm:
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Local Community Engagement 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host a farmers market, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery program, and/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:
There is a farmers market hosted in the quad, weather permitting, in the fall semester.

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:
There is a station in one dining hall that is dedicated to vegan and vegetarian dining and includes entrees, sides and dessert. All dining facilities offer vegetarian and vegan options with every meal. Sodexo at SUNY Oneonta was awarded an A from PETA in fall 2017 for pet2's Vegan Report Card. https://www.peta2.com/feature/vegan-college-ranking/

Low-Impact Dining Events 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host low impact dining events (e.g. Meatless Mondays)?:
Yes

A brief description of the low impact dining events:
Campus Crunch- Annually in the fall, this event is held to highlight the abundance of and demonstrate support for local NY apple farmers. Large apple displays are set up in each of the dining halls highlighting several varieties of NYS apples, and an event is held to encourage people to take a bite of an apple at the same time.

Sustainability-Themed Meals 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host sustainability-themed meals (e.g. local harvest dinners)?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-themed meals:
Red's Best is a weekly featured sustainable fish entree. During Earth Day celebrations in April, Sodexo, sources food for an all local meal in which limiting food waste is encouraged!

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:
Seasons Cafe is a custom restaurant focusing on local products as much as possible to support local farms and community. The menu changes seasonally.

Labeling and Signage 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor inform customers about low impact food choices and sustainability practices through labeling and signage in dining halls?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability labeling and signage in dining halls:
Sustainability and Dietetics interns promote labeling and signage of low impact and healthy food options including local, gluten free, vegan, vegetarian, dairy free, etc.

Outreach and Education 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor engage in outreach efforts to support learning and research about sustainable food systems?:
Yes

A brief description of the outreach efforts to support learning and research about sustainable food systems:
The institution regularly highlights local food producers and the products that are offered giving the students the opportunity to learn about the community. Sodexo staff works with their sustainability interns to come up with initiatives that will engage the campus with sustainable food systems.

Other Initiatives 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have other sustainability-related initiatives (e.g. health and wellness initiatives, making culturally diverse options available)?:
Yes

A brief description of the other sustainability-related dining initiatives:
We are committed to cuisine diversity. Common Table is a program that features signature dishes from the home country of international faculty and staff. Each year a Sodexo global chef hosts an internationally themed dinner.

Part 2: Food and Dining Waste 

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:
Throughout the year, Sodexo interns set up waste demonstrations as part of the "Weight the Waste" initiative. This is a Sodexo initiative in which colleges across the country are weighing their post-consumer food waste to raise awareness about the amount of food that gets thrown out after it reaches your plate.Students with no food waste when they drop off their dishes are eligible for prizes, and the dining hall with the lowest food waste is celebrated.

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:
In 2008, the College removed trays from the dining facilities to encourage less food waste and also downsized plates and resized portions to those recommended by registered dietitions as healthy portion size.

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:
Any perishable items that cannot be utilized during shut down and will not last until business resumes are donated to a local soup kitchen.

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 (e.g. converting cooking oil to fuel, on-site anaerobic digestion)?:
Yes

A brief description of the food materials diversion program:
Approximately 2 tons per month of pre-consumer food waste is donated to a local pig farmer to use for feed.

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:
Currently, a student run on-campus composting program processes approximately 1 ton of food every three months. With the brand new opening of a county wide composting facility, we are starting to collect all pre-consumer waste to be processed at the facility.

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:
With the brand new opening of a county wide composting facility, we are working to implement post-consumer food waste collection at all dining halls in the fall.

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:
The only disposable service ware used in dining halls are compostable straws.

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:
Reusable to-go containers are given to students for take out food. Students are encouraged to return the containers, and given a credit when they do so, to be washed and re-used.

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor offer discounts or other incentives to customers who use reusable containers (e.g. mugs) instead of disposable or compostable containers in “to-go” food service operations?:
Yes

A brief description of the reusable container discount or incentives program:
A 10 cent discount is available at the College's retail facilities to anyone who purchases coffee using a reusable mug.

Other Materials Management Initiatives 

Has the institution or its primary dining services contractor implemented other materials management initiatives to minimize waste not covered above (e.g. working with vendors and other entities to reduce waste from food packaging)?:
No

A brief description of other dining services materials management initiatives:
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Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
http://www.oneonta.edu/oas/sustainability/

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.