Overall Rating	Silver - expired
Overall Score	54.90
Liaison	Matt Wolsfeld
Submission Date	Jan. 23, 2017
Executive Letter	Download

STARS v2.1

University of Saskatchewan
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status	Score	Responsible Party
	1.63 / 2.00	Erin Akins Sustainability Coordinator Office of Sustainability

"---" 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?:

A brief description of the sustainable dining policy:

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On-Campus Sourcing

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor source food from a campus garden or farm?:

Yes

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

Vegetables are purchased from a student organised horticulture club that is operated out of a Horticulture field facility. The club also collects apples from fruit trees at University President's residence (a university-owned facility) and sells them to Culinary Services. Additional vegetables and herbs are sourced from an on-campus roof-top garden demonstration of urban agriculture. Fresh herbs are also grown in the kitchen with grow lights. Roof top garden info here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/rooftop-garden-providing-food-for-university-of-saskatchewan-students-1.3673947 Student Horticulture Club: https://www.facebook.com/University-of-Saskatchewan-Horticulture-Club-177412242295481/

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:

The Campus Farmer's Market was launched in September 2016. The program is a collaboration between the Office of Sustainability, the Student's Union and the Saskatoon Farmer's Market. The Campus Market is set-up once a month and hosts local food and craft vendors. Program information here: http://sustainability.usask.ca/initiatives-and-events/campus-farmers-market.php

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:

The U of S culinary centre is a buffet layout with a salad bar, fresh sandwich bar, pasta bar and a variety of hot dishes that change daily. Seeds, nuts and beans are available daily at the salad bar together with quality plant-based fats including olives, olive oils and local cold-pressed camelina oil. The pasta and sandwich bars also have a variety of vegan ingredients available. Vegetarian hot dishes that include legumes, soy or whole grains are available and change daily; often this dish is also vegan-friendly. Locally grown lentils are featured heavily within the menu.

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:

Culinary Services hosts a food-waste prevention week where educational materials are placed in the dining hall and students participate in a post-consumer food waste audit in the cafeteria. All of the food waste collected for the week is put on display as a food waste buffet demonstration to raise the visibility of the issue.

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:

Culinary Services hosts a local food month annually in October where the dining hall features and promotes local foods and dishes all month. Culinary Services also hosts a Sustainable Gourmet event annually for the Saskatchewan Environmental Society.

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?:

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:

Plasma screens located in the food buffet area highlight the sustainability efforts of the dining centre. Information on local food purchases, sustainable options such as cage-free eggs, and water conservation efforts such as tray-less dining are featured on rotating slides. During local food month, labelling and signage indicate which dishes and ingredients are local.

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:

Culinary Services supports, collaborates and provides input into student food-related Living Lab projects. They also host sustainability information on their web page. Periodically they also survey students on their interest in making local food options available to students.

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:

Culinary Services hosts many international options weekly and also features international cuisine events. The International Street-Food week is organised and hosted in conjunction with the International Students and Study Abroad Centre (ISSAC) on campus and it features contributions from other local cultural groups such as the Saskatoon Chinese Cultural Club. Culinary Services also partners with 3rd-year nutrition student to host projects on healthy eating. These projects are consistent with Dietitians of Canada recommendations and have included awareness campaigns, nutritional analysis of dishes and guided healthy eating tours of the culinary centre. Culinary Services is also working with Human Resources' Health and Wellness branch to offer healthy cooking classes for staff and faculty.

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:

Culinary Services adopted new procedures such as batch cooking as well as controlling kitchen production to reduce food waste. They also host educational outreach events to reduce post-consumer food waste and conduct periodic food waste audits.

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:

Trays were removed from the dining hall and buffet area.

Food Donation

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor donate food that would otherwise go to waste to feed people?:

A brief description of the food donation program:

Local food banks and charity organisations cannot accept food left-overs from the cafeteria due to health regulations. The only donations accepted are packaged or unprepared. In conjunction with an annual student Iron Chef competition, donations to the food bank are collected and matched by Culinary Services. However, this food donation does not consist of food that would otherwise go to waste.

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)?:

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?:

A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program:

We are in the process of installing a food waste dehydrator that will enable Culinary Services to add their food waste into the onsite landscape material composting piles. Liquid extracted from the food waste will be used as a fertilizer in flower beds.

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a post-consumer composting program?:

A brief description of the post-consumer composting program:

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:

All plates, bowls, glasses and cutlery are reusable.

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:

Platters for catering delivery and to-go containers are biodegradable. Cutlery and plates for catering are also biodegradable. We have composted these plates and cutlery in the past however due to our northern climate, even products that are compostable take much longer to compost and were causing problems for Grounds staff. We are currently testing different products to determine which will allow us to improve the composting of single-use items. This past summer, we used potato starch based items for a large staff picnic event and will know next season if they were composted properly.

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:

Discounts for customers that bring their own mugs are available at all outlets operated by Culinary Services. This includes all Tim Horton's locations on campus, Starbucks, Subway, the Arts Cafeteria and the Agriculture Cafeteria.

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)?:

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.usask.ca/culinaryservices/about-us/sustainability.php

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.