Overall Rating	Silver - expired
Overall Score	60.07
Liaison	Mark Klapatch-Mathias
Submission Date	Feb. 24, 2017
Executive Letter	Download

STARS v2.1

University of Wisconsin-River Falls
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status	Score	Responsible Party
	2.00 / 2.00	Cara Rubis Director University Center

"---" 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:

Dining Services at UWRF made a huge transition when it moved out of Hagestad Student Center and Rodli Commons to the new University Center in 2007. Both previous facilities and the equipment were extremely inefficient. In addition, spreading dining operations between two separate facilities created layers of duplication and inefficiencies in equipment, labor and overall operations. Now, there is a very efficient single production kitchen in the UC for all dining locations on campus and a high percentage of the dining production equipment is much more efficient than that previously used.

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:

Falcon foods provides cheese, ice cream, and brats for retail and residential dining. https://www.uwrf.edu/ANFS/FalconFoods/

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?:

A brief description of the farmers market, CSA or urban agriculture project:

https://www.uwrf.edu/ANFS/FalconFoods/

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:

A large variety of vegetarian and vegan options are available daily in the All You Care to Eat dining hall. https://www.uwrf.edu/DiningServices/Menu-Nutrition.cfm

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:

Taco Tuesdays, Baked Potato Bars, substitution of beans for other proteins in recipes and selections

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:

One week in spring semester that is focused on "love food, not waste". Wasted food in cafeteria is weighed and students can see a representation of how much food is wasted by spilling or overfilling of plates. Goal will be set to reduce this amount and progress is shared with guests. Additionally, new menu innovation is focusing on vegetables as center of the plate items to reduce overall footprint of food production.

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:

Signage and promotional items in place to educate students about local produce, imperfectly delicious produce, and eat local marketing.

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:

Marketing team collaborating with college sustainability club to support Love Food, Not Waste program.

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:

The Menus of Change™ initiative (MOC) was formed in 2012 as a partnership with The Culinary Institute of America and the Harvard School of Public Health. Compass Group is honored to be a founding member, supporting this exciting and industry “changing” initiative. MOC is designed to help chefs navigate the growing convergence of wellness and sustainability consumer values and prepare them for a future of foodservice that will look different than it does today. We are extremely proud of our engagement in the Menus of Change™ initiative and our commitment to support key principles that will drive new culinary approaches for healthy, delicious and sustainable food at Compass. These principles focus on engineering our menus to create a more sustainable food supply, provide delicious, nutrient dense meals for our guests and protect and improve the health of our planet. For more information, visit menusofchange.org

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:

"A new dish machine, grinder/dryer sytem for warewashing and food waste is being implemented by June 2017. All research and planning occurred in 2016. Champion® Industries, manufacturer of a full line of premier commercial warewashing systems, is proud to introduce new technology with the Energy Star Qualified dual-rinse E-Series conveyor flight machines. New water-saving technology allows the EUCC6 Slim-Line flight machine to use only 48 gallons per hour to clean over 11,000 dishes. The Champion EUCCW6 flight machine can wash over 13,000 dishes per hour while new technology reduces water consumption to only 57 gallons per hour. The EUCCW4 and EUCCW8 clean and sanitize up to 15,000 dishes per hour, while only consuming 58 gallons of water per hour. The Foodwaste Reduction System is fully customizable, designed to meet the unique needs of any facility from restaurants to hospitals, schools and other institutions. This system can process all organics including: produce, fruits, cut flowers, meat, fat trimmings, paper napkins, coffee grounds, spoiled milk, deli products and some soft plastics reducing organic waste volume by as much as 95 percent. The system transports waste from the Bi-Line conveyor trough into the counter-rotating, low-noise Slow Speed Grinder (SSG). The SSG can process up to 1,250 pounds of commercial food waste per hour. After passing through the SSG, macerated solids are transported via a ¾ HP pump through an overhead gravity feed to a centrifugal waste dewatering system. Once the waste has passed through the centrifuge it drops into the Phoenix dehydrator. The Phoenix converts the remaining moisture to steam producing a dried, sterile biomass soil amendment that is easily collected and diverted from the facility. The Foodwaste Reduction System’s modular design allows the centrifuge and Phoenix dehydrator elements to be located remotely. The system offers total odor control while reducing ventilation requirements and guarantees no pathogen, biohazard or harmful emissions keeping the facility, staff and environment safe."

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:

We do not have trays available for service. We have an AYCTE facility, but students need to fill their plate and come back if needed instead of loading a tray full of food. This was implemented in 2008 and resulted in significantly less food waste.

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:

During shut down periods we donate all the leftover food/food to the local food pantry or campus ministry.

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)?:

Yes

A brief description of the food materials diversion program:

The Foodwaste Reduction System is fully customizable, designed to meet the unique needs of any facility from restaurants to hospitals, schools and other institutions. This system can process all organics including: produce, fruits, cut flowers, meat, fat trimmings, paper napkins, coffee grounds, spoiled milk, deli products and some soft plastics reducing organic waste volume by as much as 95 percent. Remaining product after drying will be composted by the University.

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:

Trim Trax is used to track all pre-consumer waste by measuring and tracking all food waste due to production. Food scraps are measured in bins prior to disposing, and tracked weekly to find areas that may indicated poor production standards or poor yields, in order to increase efficiencies and reduce waste.

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

A brief description of the post-consumer composting program:

This will be put in place summer 2017.

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:

We use stainless steel utensils to serve with and the students use stainless steel utensils to eat with. We wash according to health code and resuse continually.

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:

For the residential dining, a resuable plastic container is provided for on the go meals that students can fill and return afterwards.

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:

If guests bring their own mug to Einsteins or Freddy's, guests can get a coffee/drink at a discounted price.

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:

https://www.uwrf.edu/Sustainability/CampusInitiatives/Food.cfm

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.