Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 68.50
Liaison Derek Nichols
Submission Date May 17, 2022

STARS v2.2

University at Buffalo
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Ray Kohl
Marketing Manager
Campus Dining & Shops
"---" 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:
Wellness Education services has partnered with Becker Farms since 2013 to offer their CSA program. Shares offered in a small or large quantity are dropped off on our North campus at Furnas Hall, weekly.

In addition to the CSA program, our Residence Hall Association hosts an annual farmers market which promotes healthy eating, sustainability and community.

The Center for Urban Studies has a long standing partnership with a local school-based community garden. Since 2001, this garden is used as an educational tool for students at the nearby Futures Academy to learn about food systems and urban place making.

https://centerforurbanstudies.ap.buffalo.edu/work/community-as-classroom-initiative/

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:
There are four 'Made In/Grown In' vending machines on campus. These machines feature only New York State grown, produced, or manufactured products. These products can also be found in several places across campus labeled with our 'Made In/ Grown In' icon.

Additionally, Seasons in the Center for the Arts offers breakfast, lunch and healthy snacks which all feature seasonally available local produce. Seasons also offers fresh pressed juices made from seasonally available fruits and vegetables.

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:
Yes. Our Campus Dining and Shops uses many local small and medium sized businesses for procurement. Golden Cup Coffee (MWBE), Coffee from McCullagh Coffee, bread from Al Cohen’s Bakery and Father Sam’s, and meat from Wardynski’s are a few examples of this.
https://myubcard.com/sustain

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 'Clean Platters' and 'Waste Less' events are a couple examples of UB low impact dining initiatives on campus. We also have an ugly vegetable and produce event to show students that Quality B foods are still good to eat.

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:
Campus Dining and Shops offers meals at all dining facilities that are labeled vegan and vegetarian. We also employ a rotating menu featuring different food themes with each day of the week, Indian themed meals are largely vegan and vegetarian.

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:
In three of our larger dining halls we have large signs representing all of our local New York State food providers. These sources are listed and also shown on a map to visualize different origins around the state. There are also signs in the buffet-style halls advocating for students to "eat with your stomach, not your eyes".

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:
UB Campus Dining and Shops uses Food Service Suite (FSS). Similar to Lean Path, FSS offers food management through data tracking. We can manage ingredients and recipes, track food allergens, production schedules, and track all food waste.

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:
Our Residential Dining Centers are trayless.

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:
Campus Dining and Shops which operates all food operations on campus support the Food Bank of western NY with perishable food items that would otherwise go to waste.

Campus Dining and Shops also partners with Student Engagement for non-perishable food collection from students.

UB also has a chapter of the Food Recovery Network that has been building its program of diversion in the dining halls.

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 is recycled into biodiesel by a local company, Buffalo Biodiesel.

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:
UB collects all pre-consumer food waste from Campus Dining and Shop facilities.

In 2010, UB Campus Dining & Shops launched an aggressive composting strategy designed to reduce food waste from dining centers where food waste is sent to Natural Upcycling--a local processor.

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:
UB collects post-consumer food waste in most dine-in facilities.

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:
Reusable china, glassware, and silverware are used at dine-in eating locations.

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:
Many resident and retail dining locations use paper based tableware, UB has eliminated Styrofoam from all UB-operated dining locations on campus.

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:
CDS offers a 10% discount on a soda or coffee refill made in a Campus Dining & Shops mug.

Optional Fields

A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
Each October, UB participates in the New York Campus Crunch. The Campus Crunch is a state-wide celebration of local food on college campuses. Students, faculty and staff across New York State take a bite out of a New York State-grown apple to affirm their commitment to food that is healthy for people and the planet. This fun event takes place in the Student Union, on the assigned day, and a countdown occurs to ensure the "big crunch" simultaneously occurs at 12 pm.

Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:
http://myubcard.com/dining/nutrition##

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Information provided by Ray Kohl

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.