Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 66.93
Liaison Kelly Wellman
Submission Date Dec. 20, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Texas A&M University
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00
"---" 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:
Our published sustainable dining policy can be found on our website at www.dineoncampus.com/tamu/ under the Sustainability tab. http://www.dineoncampus.com/tamu/show.cfm?cmd=sustainability

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:
At this time our company is not able to source food from a campus garden/farm out of concern for health risks associated with unprotected farms/gardens.

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:
Our first Farmers Market will be held on November 15, 2016 in front of Sbisa Dining Hall. This event will unite the Texas A&M campus and the surrounding community. This will be a way for our company to show support of our local economy.

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 website lists all available vegan options broken up by each dining facility on campus.  Vegan Awareness Month in October is celebrated and promoted in all dining halls on campus.  To be labeled as Vegan, foods do not contain any animal products at all. This includes: honey; eggs; dairy products of any kind; chicken, seafood, beef, ham or any other animal stock or base. There are no calorie or other nutrition limits on these foods. You may use recipes from any source for these foods.  In several of our locations we have provided “Webtrition Kiosks”. These are an Online Compass tool our guests use for nutritional and dietary information on the menu being served. A guest has the ability to walk up to these tablet kiosks and view all nutritional information for each item on the menu. They can also see the items containing allergens, vegan and vegetarian items, as well as “better for U” recommended items. From there, they have the ability to build their menu by choosing the portion of each item they will be placing on their plate. The kiosk will then summarize total nutrition facts for the meal that they have built and any allergens they may have chosen.

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:
In partnership with Vegan Awareness Month, Chartwells at Texas A&M University hosts a Meatless Monday dining event every Monday during the month of October in the Sbisa Dining Hall.

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:
Every thursday we are doing "Fresh Market Thursdays" where we are offering local and seasonal produce in our dining halls.

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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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:
Chartwells has incorporated large oversized infographics, posters, and sustainability focused digital screens that are dedicated to educating our students about low impact food choices and sustainability practices. On our waste dispensers we have also created graphics that teach students the difference between recyclable waste, compost materials, and trash.

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:
Our Project Clean Plate campaign allowed students to learn and interact with our team to learn about food waste. Also, our Farmers Market will allow local vendors to interact with the students, which will bring about conversations about local markets/products. Our Fair Trade Campaign brings Fair Trade Speakers and other events to be held on campus that support learning and research about sustainable food systems. We participate in the University's Health & Wellness fair to bring about educational opportunities

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:
Kosher food is made available to our students. We are a participant in WorldFest and feature culturally diverse options every night leading up to the event. Our dietician, Chanika Moses, works with the University's dietician to host weekly health & wellness events. We also partake in the University's Health & Wellness Fair, give away samples of Sustainable/healthy food options, as well as providing educational opportunities throughout the year.

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:
 Trim Trax: offers a sustainable solution to reduce food waste by tracking, measuring and reducing food waste in our kitchens, in three key categories listed below. Pre and post production kitchen waste is taken out of the waste stream, tracked and collected.  Production Waste  Over Production  Unused/Out-of-Date Inventory  Trim Trax provides a great visual training tool for the cooks and prep-assistants in the kitchens to see the food waste they are creating each day by using clear trim trax work station bins. The executive chefs will use these bins to retrain proper trimming techniques, to minimize waste and maximize food use. On some occasions we are able to utilize the trimmings to create stocks and bases in our cooking in order to reduce purchasing these ingredients and further reducing waste.  At the end of each day the station will weigh the amount of waste that they have produced and log it in the trim trax system. This builds awareness and bench-marks to train and coach for reduction of waste and improves production levels.

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:
All dining locations on campus have implemented trayless dining.

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:
 Food Recovery Network – Dining Services has partnered with a student organization called Food Recovery Network to donate excess food to local church programs to then be distributed. We are currently at 8,352 pounds recovered since Fall 2013.  At the end of each week, local food banks collect all of our sandwiches that were made that morning for dinner service in the local communities.

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)?:
No

A brief description of the food materials diversion program:
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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:
 Clean Plate is a campaign that helps students to set food waste reduction goals in the dining hall on campus and provides proven cause-and-effect solutions. Communications materials in the dining hall speak to students about portion control, and their part in addressing the problem of food waste. Food waste from students is collected in the dining hall, weighed on a scale, and is assigned a value.

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:
 We help support efforts to establish capture systems by partnering with sustainable waste management and/or recycling service companies. Units must properly identify receptacle so that the compostable disposables are properly disposed of for collection for composting.  Clean Plate is a campaign that helps students to set food waste reduction goals in the dining hall on campus and provides proven cause-and-effect solutions. Communications materials in the dining hall speak to students about portion control, and their part in addressing the problem of food waste. Food waste from students is collected in the dining hall, weighed on a scale, and is assigned a value.  One program in practice is coined ‘operation clean plate’. We educate our consumers in our all-you-care-to-eat facilities on the impact of putting more on their plate than they can consume. If each person puts less food on their plate they do not eat, less food is wasted. Also, less food is then produced as the kitchen is not replenishing the taken food. Dining facilities also implemented a tool where they weighed post-consumer waste in the dish room and posted the weight of food thrown away each night to create a ‘challenge’ for the community diners to reduce the number. This process produced amazing results of 27% reduction in dish room waste over the measured period.

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 Rev's Lime, and Smashburger, we provide reusable baskets to our customers. Reusable service ware is used in all dining halls on campus In places that are more "grab and go" such as the MSC food court, we offer biodegradable consumer food packaging, plates and utensils made from compostable materials such as bamboo and corn.

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:
 Chartwells has recyclable and compostable disposables to minimize the impact our disposable products have on the environment. When choosing disposable products, Chartwells considers two issues: source and biodegradability. We offer biodegradable consumer food packaging, plates and utensils made from compostable materials such as bamboo and corn. We help support client efforts to establish capture systems by partnering with sustainable waste management and/or recycling service companies. Units must properly identify receptacle so that the compostable disposables are properly disposed of for collection for composting.

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:
At Einstein's bagels, customers are awarded a discount if they bring their own coffee mugs. We have a "to-go" food program in our dining Halls, where we allow customers to purchase a reusable container, fill it up with food, and leave the dining hall with their food.

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)?:
Yes

A brief description of other dining services materials management initiatives:
Trayless Dining: This initiative helps reduce food waste and food costs through the elimination of trays in the cafeteria. In addition to the reduction in water, detergents and energy consumption needed for washing, going trayless encourages students to take only what they can eat and helps them control their food portions.

Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
http://www.dineoncampus.com/tamu/show.cfm?cmd=_vAndV

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Information for this section was supplied by Chartwells, a third-party contractor for Texas A&M University Dining.

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.