Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 74.69
Liaison Tess Esposito
Submission Date Feb. 9, 2022

STARS v2.2

University of Dayton
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Joan Bauman
Associate Director
Dining Services
"---" 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:
UD created an urban community garden on campus. Food from this garden supports dining, catering, and the campus farmers market. The farmers market is a joint effort of Student Development, Dining, Facilities, and Human Resources.

UD financially supports Mission of Mary Cooperative and Lincoln Hill Gardens, and the Dakota Center. MMC operates a CSA and Farmers Market in an underserved urban neighborhood in Dayton. The Dakota Center supports an urban garden in an underserved neighborhood and introduces youth to gardening and fresh produce.

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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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:
All of Dining's coffee is purchased from Reza's Roast, a local woman-owned small business. UD Dining also purchases from Sweet P's [https://www.sweetp-icepops.com/] for select desserts. Sweet P's is a local, minority-owned small business.

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:
Beginning in 2019, the chef at VWK hosts tastings to introduce students to plant-based diets. Beginning in 2021, the chef is incorporating and highlighting a local ingredient in every meal.

Other events include:
Outdoor dining events such as CultureFest, all-employee picnic, and some events of Family and Reunion weekends are zero waste events.

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:
Each of our dining locations offers vegan options including complete-protein vegan options at every meal.

In November 2018 at VWK, dining services began a plant-based station with entrees, deli options, and grab-and-go options. Called GreenLife, the chef at VWK matches the day's main special entree with a vegan entree option. The chef also hosts tastings to introduce students to plant-based diets.

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:
Dining Service's compostable hot cups display a message (Learn. Lead. Conserve. ; and Reduce. Reuse. Compost) that the cup is compostable and to return to the appropriate can or location for composting.

With the introduction of reusable to-go containers, labelling and signage promote the benefits of switching from single-use to reusable to-go containers.

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 university participates in RecycleMania, which has a food waste diversion and recovery/donation component.

UD's compost hauler tracks the weekly volume of food waste and compostable ware.

In addition, food waste is limited because of a la carte food preparation. Food waste is tracked internally to improve meal planning, reduce waste, and reduce costs.

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:
At UD, all Dining is ala carte, not All You Care To Eat, which limits tray use and reduces post-consumer food waste. So, trayless dining has not been implemented because we do not use a large amount of trays even though they are available. At Kennedy Union, trays are only available upon request.

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:
Dining services donates leftover food to Food Recovery Network and City Gospel Mission. At the end of the semester, perishable food items are also donated to St. Vincent DePaul.

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:
Dining services diverts compostable waste from the landfill (food and compostable serviceware). We have been composting since 2009. This compostable material is converted to mulch and soil conditioner.

UD Dining also recovers and recycles cooking oil through Restaurant Technologies Inc. (RTI). RTI picks up used cooking oil from Kennedy Union, VWK, Catering, and MC dining. They then work with other companies to recycle the oil, or re-use the oil so that it is not going into landfills.

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:
All pre-consumer food waste is sorted and collected at all three dining halls and from catering's kitchens on campus for composting. Dining services has slow-grind system and food waste is going to industrial compost facility, with the end product used as soil conditioner or mulch. UD uses both pre-consumer and post-consumer compostable material.

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:
Post-consumer food waste is sorted and collected in the kitchens of all three dining halls on our campus. In addition to food scraps, we have converted all disposable products used on campus to compostable alternatives. While washable china, flatware and cups are encouraged, we do offer disposable "take-out" containers, cups and flatware, which are all compostable as an alternative to the reusable to-go containers. Initiating composting on our campus has reduced waste from our dining units by over 90%. Dining services has a 3-trash system where compostable waste is sorted in our dishrooms and put in compostable compactor unit for hauling to commercial composting facility.

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 dishes, utensils and cups are available to all the Dining Halls for "dine in" meals.

For catering, it is the option of the requesting department to use reuable 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:
We have been using compostable containers since 2009. Compostable service ware and food waste are hauled to an off-site composting facility. In 2021, Dining piloted a reusable to-go container for take-out meals to reduce waste and the use of single-use compostable containers.

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:
Customers are charged for single-use containers. This provides an incentive to choose dine-in and reusable to-do containers.

Optional Fields

A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
Dining services offers culturally diverse options including Halal meat at one location (Virginia W.Kettering) and several other diverse cuisines at “Spice” in Kennedy Union dining. Spice includes Mexican Monday, Middle East Tuesday, Asian Wednesday, Italian Thursday and Coastal Friday. Other locations also offer some diverse menu items.

Students, faculty & staff have access to Net Nutrition, which provides nutrition, ingredient and allergen information online, for foods served on campus. Students with a special diet need may have access to the A+ Room for additional food choices.

UD Dining‘s Registered Dietitian, Ligia Lopes, meets with students regularly to provide customized meal planning, facilitate one-on-one consultations with the dining halls’ Chefs, and educate students on balanced nutrition.

UD Dining Services worked with on-site franchise, Au Bon Pain, to switch their take-out containers to compostable. In 2019, 75-80% of ABP's take-out containers were compostable.

Partnering with UD Human Resources Wellness program, the sustainability office offers Lunch and Learns for employees, with themes such as Carbon Footprint and your Lunch Plate, connecting eating choices to wellness and low-impact living.

Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:
https://www.udayton.edu/diningservices/

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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