Overall Rating Platinum
Overall Score 85.50
Liaison Breeana Sylvas
Submission Date Feb. 28, 2022

STARS v2.2

University of California, Merced
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.75 / 2.00 Allajah Wheatley
Zero Waste Coordinator
Sustainability Department
"---" 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:
A community fridge called the People’s Fridge has been established. This is an outdoor fridge that contains free fruit and vegetables. Anyone can take free produce from the fridge in the green shed and anyone can leave free produce in the fridge in the blue shed. It is open 24/7. At this same location, the Pop Up People's Pantry a local farm market happens every Saturday giving out donated food from local pantries, flea markets, farmers, and grocery stores.

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:
The Lantern Cafe is a sustainability-themed outlet on campus that serves fair trade coffee drinks. Vegan and vegetarian snacks and locally-sourced pastries. To support our zero waste initiatives the cafe also charges a small no matter the size of your drink container when you bring your own.

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:
UC Merced currently works with numerous disadvantaged or local SMEs. Currently 21% of the campus food purchasing comes from these businesses. Some including Merced Dairy Inc, Jantz Bakery, and Daylight Foods.

Estimated percentage of total food and beverage expenditures on products from disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
21

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 campus hosts a Meatless Monday program which features a different menu on 3 week rotation for lunch and dinner. All dishes are vegetarian and vegan. Catering also provides zero waste options upon request.

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:
Vegan and vegetarian options are offered for all meals. The campus chef has developed 12 different recipes using tofu as well as quinoa, grains, and beans alternately with the tofu recipes. Students are encouraged to suggest vegetarian and vegan recipes to the chef. In addition to having vegetarian options at each of the food stations and locations on campus, dining services has integrated a specialty Vegan pizza daily, vegan chili or soup of the day. The campus also has Meatless Mondays which includes all Vegan dishes and vegan pastries/desserts.

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-house signage, social media, and the dining services website are the means through which the campus gets the word out about Meatless Mondays and low impact food choices. Dining Services also encourages customers to follow zero waste practices and eat sustainably. Sustainable food purchases are also highlighted on menu’s.

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?:
No

A brief description of the food recovery competition or commitment program or food waste prevention system:
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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 dining halls do not provide trays.

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:
At the end of each semester non-perishable food items not used by dining is donated to a local homeless shelter. Dining Services donates as much produce from Fresno Food Commons and Daylight Foods as it can to the Bobcat Food Pantry and Merced County Food Bank. Dining services also makes soups from produce scraps that would have been discarded and donates the soups to the food bank and homeless shelters.

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:
Our campus dining donates food scraps to the local Applegate zoo, which in turn are turned into animal feed for the zoo animals.

Composting 

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

A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program:
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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:
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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:
Dining Services uses reusable containers for almost 90% to go orders in the Dining Center. They have eliminated disposable utensils and sell reusable packs as a replacement. Lids have also been eliminated from fountain drinks.

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:
The dining commons and lantern cafe utilize service ware for to-go services that are third-party certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute from the company Eco-Products.

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:
In the lantern cafe, individuals are charged a small no matter the size when you bring or fill up a reusable mug.

Optional Fields

A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
Dining works with campus health promotion services to educate customers on healthy and sustainable choices. The Healthy Campus Network (HCN) is a University of California systemwide initiative that promotes innovative reforms in all dimensions of health and well-being “to make UC the healthiest place to work, learn and live."

Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:
http://dining.ucmerced.edu/

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.