Overall Rating Reporter
Overall Score
Liaison Chelsea Hamilton
Submission Date March 3, 2023

STARS v2.2

Vanderbilt University
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete Reporter Chelsea Hamilton
Sustainability Outreach Program Manager
Environmental Health, Safety, and Sustainability
"---" 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:
Vanderbilt hosts a local farmers’ market on campus. The market is part of the Nashville Farmers’ Market network and is held weekly during the season (June-October). The farmers’ market includes produce, meats, cheese, eggs, flowers, and other locally made goods. Many of the farms provide CSAs that can be picked up during the Vanderbilt Farmers’ Market and at occasional pop-up Farmer’s Market stands in Rand Hall.

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:
Local Vendor Fair: Vanderbilt hosted a local vendor fair on the Commons that acted as a mini-market for local goods on the freshman campus.

Grins Vegetarian Cafe offers a regular menu and daily internationally-inspired specials that satisfies diners of all types. Kosher Certification provided by Rabbi Saul Strosberg from Congregation Sherith Israel.

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:
Vanderbilt purchases from local providers whenever possible. Many of these providers are SMEs. Local providers include vendors like Christie Cookies. More information in Dining Purchasing inventory.

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

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:
Campus Dining abides by the Menus of Change principles, which includes serving less red meat, less often. Dining approaches this principle in multiple ways, it offers vegetarian options at all meals, serves only burgers with 25% mushrooms or the impossible burger (100% plant based), and reduces the number of times beef is offered across campus.
Special low impact dining events include:
• Campus Dining celebrated Earth Week with five days of sustainability-themed events ranging from fair trade coffee samples to local farm recipes to potted herb giveaways
• Insect Fest: Vanderbilt hosted a low impact event that introduced Vanderbilt diners to the practice of eating insects, which have a much lower impact than other animal products)
• Farm to Campus Menu Series: chef-curated local meals at area dining halls featuring local farm products
• Kelp Burger: Campus Dining featured kelp-based burgers on the menu in Dining Hall
• Waste Not Cooking Demo: Vanderbilt hosted the James Beard Foundation and the Nashville Food Waste Initiative will host a “waste-not” cooking demonstration in partnership with Mayor Cooper’s Food Saver Challenge. This demo featured Nashville chef Julia Sullivan of Henrietta Red and Campus Dining chefs preparing delicious dishes using ingredients typically thought of as food scraps or waste.

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:
Vegetarian and vegan entrees are available at each meal at various Vanderbilt Dining locations. Vanderbilt Dining received an “A” on PETA’s Vegan Report Card with an 84% student satisfaction rate in 2022. Vanderbilt Dining was recognized on this list for offering at least one vegan entrée at every meal, offering nondairy milk, labeling vegan entrees and desserts, including a vegan student on the dining advisory board, promoting vegan options and working with students to distribute vegan food. https://collegereportcard.peta.org/college/vanderbilt-university/

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:
Campus Dining’s Eat the World Save the Earth program includes icons indicating specific categories that are included on all campus dining menus and at the service point. These icons include: organic, vegetarian, vegan, local, fair trade, and recycle (to-go containers/packaging). The icons make it easy for diners to find preferred food choices while they are in the dining are or looking at online menus.
Dining recently added signage for composting available in VU dining halls instructing diners where to put their waste so it is composted instead of ending up in a landfill. Dining has included signage for their switch to compostable to-go containers and utensils, as well as describing the impacts of removing plastic straws and plastic bags in the dining halls. There is significant signage around Campus Dining’s “no more plastic” initiative across campus.

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:
Vanderbilt chefs and management team work very hard to ensure that there is as little waste as possible. This is accomplished by analyzing sales figures, by time of day, day of the week, month, previous trends, peak business hours, etc. Waste is eliminated on the front end by effectively managing our food purchases. When there is leftover food, it is donated to Second Harvest Food Bank.
Vanderbilt Campus Dining uses LeanPath software to minimize food waste. LeanPath is used to track food waste and educate staff on how they can reduce waste and make more sustainable purchasing choices. Vanderbilt became a member of the Nashville Mayor’s Food Saver Challenge in 2018 and completes a follow-up survey twice per year to remain recognized and was recognized in the TN Get Food Smart program in 2019.

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:
All residential dining hall locations are now all you can eat, which allows student to take the portions they desire instead of set portion sizes.

Vanderbilt chefs and management team work very hard to ensure that there is as little waste as possible. This is accomplished by using data from leanpath to analyze sales figures, by time of day, day of the week, month, previous trends, peak business hours, etc. Waste is eliminated on the front end by effectively managing our food purchases. When there is leftover food, it is donated to local charities. Students also have the opportunity to pick up a coin instead of one or more of their side items included in the meal plan. The coins collected are traded for canned food items which are donated to Second Harvest Food Bank. http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2012/04/share-a-side/

Since 2013, Vanderbilt has donated 2 truckloads of strawberries leftover from the annual Strawberries and Champagne commencement event to the Nashville zoo animals as well as rescued native wildlife at Walden’s Puddle.
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/sustainvu/2013/05/commencement-strawberries/

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:
Leftover food is donated to Second Harvest Food Bank.

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:
Vanderbilt installed an Organic Refuse Conversion Alternative (ORCA) machine to the main dining facility, Rand Hall, in 2015. The ORCA offers a method to digest food waste on-site and convert it to nutrient rich water within a twenty-four hour period. The ORCA has improved the efficiency and effectiveness of our kitchen, eliminating the need to store food waste and reducing much of the food waste that would otherwise go to the landfill.
Since 2013, Vanderbilt has donated 2 truckloads of strawberries leftover from the annual Strawberries and Champagne commencement event to the Nashville zoo animals as well as rescued native wildlife at Walden’s Puddle for use as animal food.

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:
A composting program was implemented in 2017 on campus and expanded to all of our campus dining locations in 2019. The program currently includes pre- and post-consumer collection for all dining prep locations, as well as post-consumer collection at the Commons Center and Rand dining halls. Food waste is collected and composted by the Compost Company, a local vendor.

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:
A composting program was implemented in 2017 on campus and expanded to all of our campus dining locations in 2019. The program currently includes pre- and post-consumer collection for all dining prep locations, as well as post-consumer collection dining halls. Food waste is collected and composted by the Compost Company, a local vendor. Food waste collection is being added to front-of-house in the coming year.

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 dining facilities use reusable service ware for dine-in meals.

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:
Starting in 2022, Vanderbilt Campus Dining partnered with Fill it Forward to offer reusable to-go containers at all residential dining halls, including Commons, E. Bronson Ingram, Rothschild, and Zeppos. Each undergraduate student receives one free container that can be used in all-you-care-to-eat residential dining locations, and can be returned for cleaning and sanitizing. Using the Fill it Forward app, students can track their return, then scan a new code to rent a new container.

With the Fill it Forward app, students can rent and return our reusable food containers, while also tracking the impact of their personal reusable bottles. Every scan unlocks a donation and tracks the environmental impact of diverting another single-use item from our landfills and oceans. https://campusdining.vanderbilt.edu/campus-dining-introduces-new-reusable-to-go-program/

In the few locations across campus that offer non-reusable to-go containers, all materials are compostable.

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?:
No

A brief description of the reusable container discount or incentives program:
---

Optional Fields

A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
Campus Dining has significantly reduced packaging from their dining halls and is working to reduce packaging from items in the markets. Campus Dining has installed numerous rapid water bottle fillers (located in all market locations and additional dining locations) and has eliminated bottled water and soda bottles in markets.
Vanderbilt has an on-campus dining facility called Grins that serves vegetarian meals that are Kosher certified by Rabbi Saul Strosberg. Grins offers a regular menu and daily internationally inspired specials that are available on the Vanderbilt meal plan as well for non-meal plan diners.
Vanderbilt also has a fully kosher food truck that was started by a Vanderbilt student. Aryeh’s Kitchen serves the Vanderbilt campus a Kosher menu with a southern twist. It is the only Kosher campus food truck in the U.S.
Vanderbilt also provides culturally diverse dining options daily in the main dining hall. Orto is a revolving, ever-evolving concept that explores the cuisines of the world. The menu at Orto is diverse, unique and will often change. The menu always includes healthy vegan and vegetarian options as well as robust, flavor-filled dishes.
Halal dining options are also identified with signs.

Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:
https://campusdining.vanderbilt.edu/our-mission-2/sustainability/

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
---

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.