Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 58.23
Liaison Sarah Williams
Submission Date July 24, 2023

STARS v2.2

Whitman College
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.75 / 2.00 Sarah Williams
Sustainability Manager
Office of Sustainability, Facilities 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:
Bon Appetit has hosted one farmers market so far and plans to host more, as seasonal produce availability allows. Bon Appetit is also increasingly involved in the Whitman College Organic Garden, which is an urban gardening project. Bon Appetit plans to expand its involvement with the Garden this upcoming Spring and Summer in order to offer hyper-local garnishes, herbs, and produce. The Garden is less than a mile away from Cleveland Commons.

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:
Our farmer's markets are sustainability-themed. Our farmer's markets are a great avenue to teach our students about the importance of growing local produce and the seasonality of what we eat and purchase.

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:
Locally Crafted, Minority Owned, and Farm to Fork which support and showcase these vendors that we are encouraged to buy from. Justice through Ownership: encouraging chefs to enroll in and support businesses that are minority and or woman owned and controlled.

Estimated percentage of total food and beverage expenditures on products from disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
7

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:
Multiple times per year, Bon Appetit has Plant Forward week, which promotes vegan and vegetarian options. During this week, there are extra marketing materials that make students aware of the impacts of including more plants and less animal products in their diets. Additionally, vegan and vegetarian options are labeled as such and encouraged year round, and are promoted as sustainable options for students.

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 options are available at every meal at all dining facilities at all mealtimes. Common vegan protein options include tofu, seitan, tempeh, and black beans (combined with other ingredients to make this protein complete).

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:
There is signage about the sustainability of each food option and about the impact of eating a plant-forward diet. Signage is posted across Cleveland Commons, and is dependent on the item being offered.

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:
We use a program to track food waste Waste Not. This tool tracks food waste by category of waste, and also identifies if waste is given to our food scrap program or goes in the garbage. We have also drastically decreased the total amount of food waste generated over the years by diligent tracking and prevention strategies.

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 are not available at Cleveland Commons. There is not yet a modified menu/portion program. Plan to incorporate a portion program in Fall 2023

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:
All food that is in condition to be donated is donated to the Christian Aid Center of Walla Walla.

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:
The vast majority of food scraps generated from the kitchen at Cleveland Commons are picked up daily by local farmers who feed it to their animals. The only food scrap items thrown away at Cleveland Commons are bones and other items that are unsafe for animals to consume.

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:
All "dine in" meals are served on resuable dishware. Cleveland Commons uses reusable bowls, silverware (as available), plates, cups, and mugs.

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)?:
No

A brief description of the compostable containers and service ware:
We do not have an on-site composting program due to lack of city-wide composting infrastructure. We hope to implement on-site composting in the future.

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:
Opting in to the reusable container program is free to all students on the meal plan. At the Espresso station, participants are given punchcards for their coffee purchases, and after 10 punches they recieve a free drink. They are incentivized to use a reusable to go mug or to enjoy their drink in a ceramic mug-in house by getting double punches when they do not use a paper cup.

Optional Fields

A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
We have a Student Sustainability Coordinator who runs our food waste prevention programs and also holds events to raise student awareness about our current sustainability initiatives and how they can participate. This position has been in place since Fall 2021, with plans to continue next year.

Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:
https://www.bamco.com/sourcing/

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